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Copyrighted, 1905, by Moses King 



















x/ 

A HOME GEOGRAPHY OF 
NEW YORK CITY 


BY 

GUSTAVE STRAUBENMULLER» 

II 

Associate City Superintendent of Scwooes, New York City 


REVISED EDITION 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 
ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • -*AN FRANCISCO 





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Copyright, 1905,1924, by 
GUSTAVE STRAUBENMULLER 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

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GINN AND COMPANY • PRO¬ 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 

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PREFACE 


Wholesome pride in one’s home, one’s immediate surroundings, 
and one’s own city engenders not only a love for this circumscribed 
area, but opens the heart for the larger love, — the love of country 
and of humanity. 

Home geography emphasizes man’s intimate connection with 
surrounding geographical features and his dependence upon them; 
it shows how man utilizes the opportunities offered by nature to 
establish relationships with her; it dwells upon man’s expediency 
in turning to profitable account the resources of his environment; 
and it also arouses in the learner a feeling of reverence for those 
responsible for the great changes wrought, and for the institutions 
that helped to effect those changes. 

Home geography does not restrict itself to present conditions 
alone, it concerns itself with the past. While it gives us a faithful 
picture of the present, it describes the local conditions of former 
times. In other words, it is not only an outlook into space but the 
starting point for history. 

The value of home geography lies in the fact that it enables the 
teacher to present concretely the geographical features of the vicin¬ 
ity. With these features, thus observed, as basal ideas, the learner 
can be taught by analogy to get a clear idea of such forms as do not 
come within his immediate experience. In short, home geography 
is practical geography, and should, therefore, be the preparatory 
step to geography in general. 


*** 


IV 


PREFACE 


As no study of geography is possible without a knowledge of 
maps, an attempt has been made to teach what maps are, what they 
stand for, and what they mean. Relief, physical, and political maps 
have been introduced to acquaint the learner with the system of 
symbols usually employed on maps, and to enable him to interpret 
them properly. 

As appeals to the eye are considered especially helpful, many 
illustrations have been introduced, and much care has been given to 
their selection. Bird’s-eye views have been made a feature of the 
book because they are regarded as among the most helpful devices 
in teaching this subject. 

Part I treats of local geography, and Part II treats of local his¬ 
tory. The stories of the latter are so arranged as to lead the child 
through the paths of historical changes in as logical a manner as 
possible within the limitations of this book. The stories selected 
are such as will prove interesting as well as instructive. 

The Appendix contains helpful geographical and historical infor¬ 
mation in tabular form. 

The writer desires to acknowledge valuable aid from various 
sources. He would especially thank Professor Hermon C. Bumpus, 
Director of the American Museum of Natural History, and the cura¬ 
tors, Mr. L. P. Gratacap, Professor Franz Boas, and Mr. Harlan I. 
Smith, for the courtesy and help extended in the preparation of 
parts of this book. He is also indebted to several of his colleagues 
for their valuable assistance in many ways. 


November, 1905 


CONTENTS 


Introduction 


page 

xi 


part I —local geography 


CHAPTER 

I. Plans and Maps. 1 

II. A Relief Map of New York City. 17 

III. A Physical Map of New York City.20 

IV. A Political Map of New York City ...... 31 

Y. Topography.37 

Manhattan ........... 37 

The Bronx ............ 41 

Brooklyn ............ 43 

Queens ............ 45 

Richmond ........... 47 

YI. New York Harbor .......... 49 

VII. Transportation.55 

VIII. Bridges and Tunnels.61 

IX. Manufactures. 65 

X. New York: the Nation’s Market Place.67 

XI. New York : the Nation’s Financial Center .... 69 

XII. Homes of the People.72 

XIII. Immigration ........... 74 

XIY. Streets and Avenues. . 76 

XY. Broadway and the Bowery. 78 

Ferries ......••••••• 81 

XYI. Parks. 82 

Central Park .......... 83 

Riverside Park ..... ...... 85 

Prospect Park . . . . • • • • » . .86 

Ocean Parkway .......... 86 
























VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

Pelham Bay Park .......... 86 

Van Cortlandt Park ......... 87 

Bronx Park ........... 87 

Forest Park .......... 88 

Battery Park ........... 89 

Bowling Green Park ......... 90 

Morningside Park . . . . . . . . . .90 

Fort Greene Park .......... 90 

XVII. Museums and Parks that the Children of our City should visit 92 
The American Museum of Natural History ..... 92 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art ....... 93 

The Aquarium .......... 94 

The New York Botanical Garden ....... 94 

The New York Zoological Park ....... 96 

The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences . . . . .96 

XVIII. Schools, Churches, and Libraries ...... 98 

Public Schools ........... 98 

Private Schools and Colleges . . . . . . . 99 

Churches and Sunday Schools ........ 101 

Libraries ........... 102 

XIX. The City Government ......... 103 

The Mayor ........... 103 

Borough President.. . . . .104 

Board of Aldermen .. 104 

Departments ........... 105 

Finance Department ......... 105 

Police Department.105 

Fire Department .......... 106 

Department of Health . . . . . . . . .107 

Street-Cleaning Department. 108 

Department of Education . . . . . . . . .109 

Other Departments ......... 109 

United States Officials ......... 109 

County Officials . . . . . . . . . .110 


























CONTENTS vii 

PART II — STORIES OF LOCAL HISTORY 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XX. New York City as the Home of the Indian - .... Ill 

XXI. Indian Money . 115 

XXII. The School of the Indian Boy ..118 

Woodcraft ....... .... 118 

Indian History ...... 0 . . 119 

Picture Reading and Writing , . . . . e .120 

Athletic Sports .......... 121 

Music, Singing, Dancing . . . . . . . .121 

Public Speaking .......... 122 

XXIII. The School of the Indian Girl ...... 123 

Sewing ............ 123 

Cooking ........... 123 

Serving. 124 

Housekeeping .......... 125 

Housebuilding .......... 125 

Farming ........... 126 

Nursing ............ 126 

Studies ........... 126 

XXIY. The Coming of the White Man ...... 127 

The Coming of the Half Moon as told by a Delaware Chief to a 
Missionary .......... 127 

XXY. The Beginning of the Fur Trade ...... 131 

Henry Hudson .......... 131 

Adrian Block.. 134 

XXYI. The Dutch in New York ........ 135 

Peter Minuit ..... ..... 135 

XXYII. How New Amsterdam changed from a Dutch Trading Post 

to a Dutch City ......... 137 

XXYIII. Peter Stuyyesant.. 140 

XXIX. Early Organization. 1 . . . . 142 

City Departments of New Amsterdam ..... . 142 

XXX. The First New York Schools. 144 

The First Free School in the Colonies (1652) . 145 

Dutch Schools.. 146 





















CONTENTS 


viii 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXI. Life in the Dutch Settlements . .147 

Trades and Occupations.147 

XXXII. Dutch Children .......... 151 

XXXIII. Under the English Flag ....... 153 

Why New Amsterdam became an English City .... 153 

XXXIY. How New York became an American City .... 155 

NEW YOEK AS AN ENGLISH COLONY 

XXXY. Growth and Prosperity under the English . . . 157 

New York Schools and the Change in Language . . . 159 

The First College in New York City ..... 160 

Trinity Church,—the First English Church in New York . 161 
St. Paul’s Chapel ......... 162 

The First Printing Press . . . . . . . .163 

The English City Hall . . . . . . . .164 

The First Library ......... 164 

XXXYI. Early Newspapers ......... 165 

Quarrels between the People and the English Officers of the Law . 165 
The Second New York Newspaper ...... 167 

The Freedom of the Press established in America . . .168 

Ways of Travel in 1735 ........ 169 

XXXYII. Trouble with England . .171 

The Stamp Act.171 

June 4, 1776; the Liberty Polo ....... 173 

The Battle of Golden Hill (January 18, 1770) . . . 175 

Independence Day (July 4, 1776). 176 

XXXYIII. New York and the Revolution . . . . . .179 

What the Declaration of Independence meant to those who 

signed it ......... 179 

New York during the Seven Years’ War . . . . 179 

Nathan Hale .......... 182 

The Battle of Harlem Heights ...... 183 

Evacuation Day .......... 185 











CONTENTS ix 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXIX. Historic Spots .188 

Battery Park .......... 188 

The New Custom House ........ 189 

The Aquarium .......... 189 

Bowling Green ......... 190 

STORIES OF NEW YORK, AN AMERICAN CITY 

XL. When Washington lived in New York .... 195 

XLI. Alexander Hamilton ......... 199 

The First Secretary of the Treasury ..... 199 

XLII. Robert Fulton .202 

XLIII. Samuel F. B. Morse .204 

The Inventor of the Electric Telegraph ..... 204 

XLIY. Peter Cooper .207 

The Founder of Cooper Union ....... 207 

Ways of Living ......... 208 

Words of Peter Cooper ........ 210 

The Ways of earning a Living ...... 210 

How Peter Cooper helped to make a Success of Many Inventions 211 
Cooper Union .......... 212 

The Tom Thumb, the First American Locomotive . . 213 

The New Western Trade Route to China and Japan . .215 

The Atlantic Cable ......... 216 

A Model Citizen.217 

APPENDIX 

The Most Important Settlements in Dutch New York .... 219 

Important Dates and Places of Interest in New Amsterdam — a Dutch City 222 
Important Dates and Places of Interest in New York — an English and 

American City ............ 223 

Important Dates and Places of Interest associated with Washington . . 225 

The Meaning of a Few Geographical Names.. . 226 

Dates and Landmarks of Local Interest — Neighborhood of School . . 228 
Meanings of Other Geographical Names.229 

















































































































































. 





INTRODUCTION 


FOE THE TEACHEE 

“ The map, not the text-book, forms the basis of study.” Geikie says, “ It 
should be, in my opinion, the teacher’s main aim in the first or elementary 
stage of instruction to make the understanding of a map and the capability 
of adequately using it the great object to be kept in view, and no pupil who 
has not mastered this acquirement should be allowed to pass into a higher 
grade” 

As an introduction to map study the teacher begins in the schoolroom 
with observations on surfaces, actual measurements by rule and pacing, the 
study of space relations of objects and the making and reading of simple 
plans. Actual boundaries and their proper representations on paper are 
emphasized. As most of the surfaces selected are such as can be seen by 
the pupil, he learns to interpret intelligently the graphic representations of 
them. These steps lead to the understanding of a map. 

One of the main objects of this book is to teach map reading; therefore, 
greater stress has been laid upon the reading of plans and maps than upon 
the elaborate drawing of them. Throughout the book much attention has 
been given to the scale and its uses. 

Wherever possible it should be the teacher’s aim to let the pupil see the 
geographical feature in nature, then to impress upon his mind its various 
forms by models and pictures, and finally to show its representation or symbol 
on the map. No amount of study from books will take the place of practical 
knowledge in this subject. The teacher must acquaint herself thoroughly 
with the immediate environment of the school, in order that she may intelli¬ 
gently direct the study of her class. She should make an attempt to bring 
out the “ why there ” as well as the “ where.” Pupils are always interested 
in that which is near, if it be properly presented to them. 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 


xii 


As home geography also includes history, a splendid opportunity is 
offered in teaching this subject, to inculcate patriotism and love of home. 
For that reason this study should begin early and continue throughout the 
elementary course. 

In the history section of the book the stories naturally begin with the 
Indians, the first dwellers on our soil. As this is a home geography of 
New York, the Indian of the home locality has been described. He was not 
as high a type as his Western brother. 

In order to bring Indian life a little nearer to the New York boy and girl 
who know little or nothing of life in the woods, the Indian children’s school 
has been introduced, with subheadings suggestive of a modern course of 
study. 

The originals of weapons, implements, musical instruments, etc., pictured 
in this book may all be found in the cases of the American Museum of 
Natural History, and are representative of the New York Indian. The toma¬ 
hawk shown here is the only one in America having the genuine Indian 
handle. 

The Indian chapters are followed by stories of Dutch, English, and 
American New York. The stories of these periods have been selected with 
the object of teaching the children a few of the causes that led to the 
political and economic development of their city and its institutions. 

In the American period biographical sketches of Fulton, Morse, and 
Cooper are used as a means to awaken interest in the epoch-making inven¬ 
tions that led to the great industrial development of the last century. 

Many of the chapters in both the geography and history sections are 
merely reading lessons. Questions are freely interspersed to fix the attention 
and to lead the child to think and reason. Much has been introduced in 
order to prompt children to visit places of interest and historic sites and 
thus to become acquainted with their own city. If an interest in New York 
city is awakened, this book will have accomplished its mission. 

The Appendix is a ready-reference table, such as a progressive class 
teacher would have in her notebook for use as the occasion demands. 


INTRODUCTION 


xiii 

Home geography cannot be learned by the reading of books. Miss Rey¬ 
nolds says, “ The text-book counts for little, the map for much, the teacher 
for more, and the pupil for most of all.” Study geographical features of the 
home locality outdoors, and then go to the book and map. 

Begin with the physical side, because it is easier. Geographical forms, 
even after they have been seen, should be modeled and sketched. 

Wherever possible the natural objects should be presented first, then 
they should be modeled in sand or clay, then their appearance on a relief 
map should he presented, and finally their form as found on physical and 
political maps should be made clear. 

If there be a spare room in your building, establish a science room. In 
this room you could have the large sand table, plants, insect cages, aquariums, 
etc. After the pupils have seen the form in nature, model it in sand. 

Maps should be studied like pictures. 

Sketch maps of physical features, small parks, parts of boroughs, boroughs, 
and the city help a child to understand scale and to read a map. Elaborate 
drawings of these are not so helpful. 

Use a large wall map in which the various boroughs are so colored that 
they may be seen and distinguished by every pupil in the room. 

The topography of each borough should be studied in detail by the 
pupils of that borough. 

Special attention should at all times be given to the child’s own borough. 
Sections of the boroughs are popularly known by certain names. These were 
the names of villages and towns annexed to these boroughs at various times. 
It is advisable to teach only such as are near the school. 

The study of the meaning of geographical names has historical and 
geographical value and should be continued throughout the whole course in 
geography. 

If you find out the meanings of any place names in your immediate 
neighborhood which are of interest to the children, add these to the list in 
the hook. Such meanings are a helpful device, recalling physical features 
that an age of improvement has obliterated. 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


The points of the compass are to he charted on a clear part of the 
schoolroom floor, on the ceiling, or on any horizontal surface within view of 
the pupils. 

The first steps are to he observational, and the instruction is to be oral. 

The memory is not to be overtaxed. Children are to see things, and 
know where to look for them rather than to recite about them. 

Many of the chapters in this hook are intended to awaken interest and 
to create a desire to see tilings. Therefore they should he treated as reading 
lessons. It may he well for the teacher to read to the pupils occasionally. 

Books relating to local interests should he accessible to pupils. Much 
material can he found in the biographies of noted New Yorkers. 

In discussing localities such as the Italian quarter, the wholesale district, 
the retail district, it is advisable to have an outline map on which you can 
roughly block out these sections with colored chalk. Color masses of this 
kind make a lasting impression. 

Avoid lecturing. 

Make use of comparisons wherever possible. Example: Compare the 
number of children in a class room with the number in the school; compare 
the number of children in the school with the number of people living on the 
school block, or in the school district; compare the number in the school dis¬ 
trict with the number in your borough; compare the population of New 
York with other cities, large and small. This may be done very profitably in 
an arithmetic lesson. 

Collect bird’s-eye views and pictures of physical features, buildings, 
industries, civic improvements, places of historic and scenic interest. Use 
the collections, however, only to illustrate your lesson. Do not place them 
permanently on the walls of the schoolroom. 

Take your class on the roof of the school building, if that be safe and pos¬ 
sible, or let them get a view from a top-floor window, or from one of the giant 
bridges, or from any elevation in a park or elsewhere. Let them look to the 
north and point out what can be seen, then to the east, the south, and the west. 

Refer frequently to the bird’s-eye views. They are very helpful. 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


Train your pupils to acquire the habit of picturing the country the map 
represents. 

Induce your pupils to form walking clubs. 

Personally conducted excursions are the best and the most helpful. 

As most of the excursions will be taken on holidays, Saturdays, and Sun¬ 
days, much of the work will be done outside of school hours. 

Plan the trips weeks in advance of class lesson; at first to places of inter¬ 
est near the school, then to places farther removed. 

Teach your pupils to observe, by telling them what to look for and what 
you expect them to see. Gradually decrease the amount of direction and 
information and increase your demands upon them as to their observations. 

A teacher must speak from personal experience if she is anxious to have 
her pupils get personal experience. 

Take imaginary trips with your pupils to places of interest. Get them to 
describe the exact route from the school to the place selected, including direc¬ 
tion, names of streets, car lines to be used, fares to be paid, and noteworthy 
places passed. 

Select colonial landmarks in the vicinity of school. Pay particular atten¬ 
tion to landmarks, historic or otherwise, in the borough of the school. 

Teachers should note places of interest and historic sites in their own bor¬ 
oughs, not mentioned in this book, and add them to the Appendix for reference. 

The City History Club of New York by its active propaganda has done 
much to arouse interest in the historic and geographic importance of the city. 
Teachers will find the publications of this club very helpful. 

The American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art, the Aquarium, the Zoological Park, the Botanical Gardens, and the 
Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences should be visited. 

Visits to dry docks, factories, shops, etc., form a part of the study of local 
geography. 

Children living in a large seaport should know something about ships. 
Let some of the imaginary trips include such places as will introduce a talk 
about vessels. 
























. 










s 





















A HOME GEOGRAPHY OF 
NEW YORK CITY 


Part I — Local Geography 

CHAPTER I 

PLANS AND MAPS 

In order to learn something about our own city, it will be 
convenient and at times necessary to use a map. Let us therefore 
learn what a map is, what it presents to view, and what story 
it tells. 

A map tells us something we ought to know. On the walls of 
the schoolroom we see maps. Why are they there? Of what use 
are they? We see maps in newspapers and geographies. When 
are maps used in newspapers? Why are maps used in geogra¬ 
phies ? Have you not often seen your father use a map ? When 
does he use it ? Why does he use it ? 

We learn from what has been said that maps are frequently 
used, that they must mean something, and that some people under¬ 
stand what they mean. Let us try to find out what they mean 
and how to read them, so that we too can learn the story they tell. 
It is true that we can read a map just as we can read a book. It 
tells us many stories about the countries of the world, its mountains, 
its rivers, and its cities. 


l 


2 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY 


But before we can read a map, we must learn what a plan is, 
because a map is a kind of a plan. Let us get an idea of the 
difference between a picture, a plan, and a map. 

First, let us stand in the doorway and look into our schoolroom. 
We see the walls and the pictures, the blackboards and the win¬ 
dows, the desks and the seats, three walls and a ceiling, the floor 
and the aisles. If you were to take a photograph of this room, it 
would show the room just as it looks to any one who steps into it. 
This photograph would be a picture of the room. As you know, the 
picture would not be as large as the room, and yet you would know 
it as your class room. You would recognize it as you recognize your 
mothers picture when you see it in the large frame hanging on the 
wall at home, or on a small card in the album. 

Pictures show objects just as they appear to the eye; they also 
indicate the height of an object. If, now, it were possible to look 
down upon this class room through a hole in the ceiling, you would 
see the tops of the desks, the floor, and the aisles. If we draw an 
object just as we see it when looking directly down upon it, we 
make a plan of it. A plan does not show height or thickness. It 
does show length and width, the shape as seen from above, and the 
correct distance of one object from another. 

Try to draw the plan of your desk by putting lines on your 
paper that will represent the sides and ends of the desk, or its 
boundaries, so that you will see the shape of its top or surface. 
Let us stand up on our seats and bend over, so that our eyes are 
directly over our desks. Each boy sees the top of his desk only. 
He sees its shape and size. What shape has it ? Measure its length 
and breadth. Now draw it. “ But,” you will say, “my desk is 


PLANS AND MAPS 


3 


2 feet long and 1 foot wide/ and my paper is not large enough to 
draw upon it a rectangle 2 feet long and 1 foot wide.” We must, 
therefore, do something to get a drawing that will give us an exact 
idea of the shape and size of the top of that desk, even if we must 
place the drawing on a small piece of paper. Well, then, let us 
draw the desk one half as large as it is. You find the paper still 
too small? What are you going to do? We must do something 
to get a drawing that will look just like the top of our desk, but it 
must be small enough to be placed on our paper. 

Take your rulers. Mark off on a piece of paper ^ of an inch. 
Call that 1 foot. Whenever you measure a foot, you will draw 
l of an inch on your paper. If you find that an object is 2 feet 
long, you will draw f- of an inch for the length. If you find that 
an object is 3 feet long, you will draw f of an inch for the length. 
The desk is 2 feet long. We, therefore, draw | of an inch for 
1 foot, and without lifting our pencils, draw another ^ of an inch. 
We have now drawn \ of an inch to represent 2 feet. The desk is 
1 foot wide. Therefore we draw ^ of an inch for the width. 

Let us now complete the rectangle. It is f of an inch long 
and | of an inch wide. We have drawn a plan of the top of the 
desk to a scale, showing its exact shape and size. 

We say this plan is drawn to a scale. The scale used is | of an 
inch to the foot. Every foot of the object drawn is represented by 
| of an inch in the drawing. 

Now, suppose there is no furniture in the room, and that 
you can look down into the room through a hole in the ceiling. 

1 If the desk does not measure an exact number of feet, you must assume such 
measurement for the present. 


4 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


You see the floor, and the floor is a rectangle. This rectangle is 
much larger than the rectangle you saw when you looked down 
upon your desk. Let us measure the floor. We find it to be 20 feet 
long and 16 feet wide. The scale that we are using is \ of an inch 
to the foot. We wish to draw a line that will represent 20 feet. If 
\ of an inch represents one foot, how many quarter inches will rep¬ 
resent 2 feet, 4 feet, 8 feet, 16 feet, 20 feet? How many inches long 
will a line be that represents 20 feet ? Draw a line representing 20 
feet according to this scale. The line you have drawn represents the 
length of your room. What is the width of your room ? Draw a 
line representing the width of your room according to this scale. 
Draw a rectangle, with opposite sides of 5 inches and 4 inches. 
You now have a plan of the floor of your room drawn to the scale 
of \ of an inch to the foot. Every foot in the length and also in the 
width of the room is represented by \ of an inch in your drawing. 

The plan of the floor of your room is now said to have been 
drawn to a scale of \ of an inch to the foot. 

Sometimes it is impossible to obtain a ruler or a tapeline for 
measuring. We then measure by steps. A step is called a pace. 
A pace for measuring purposes is fixed at 8 feet, and is measured 
from heel to heel. Your pace is not so long as that. How long is 
it, measured from heel to heel ? See how many paces you must 
take to measure your room. Count the number of paces of a tall 
boy in pacing the room; of a small hoy. Pace the school street 
on your way home. Pace the yard. How far is it from the school 
to your house ? Find out by pacing it. The distances as determined 
by pacing are, of course, not exact; we say they are approximate; 
sometimes that is near enough. 


PLANS AND MAPS 


5 


Let us suppose we are again looking into your class room 
through a hole in the ceiling, and that the room looks as it does 
now. The teacher’s desk and your own desks are here. We can 
now draw a plan of the door, showing size, shape, and location 
of desks and aisles. Try to do this. Remember that you are 
looking upon them from above. Measure the top of the teacher’s 
desk. Find out how far it is from the walls on either side of it, 
and also how far it is from the wall behind it. Reduce all these 
measurements to the scale of of an inch to the foot, and then draw 
the object in your plan. Draw the desks; leave space for the aisles. 
You now have the plan of the floor of your room, with your teacher’s 
desk and your own desks in it. The plan also shows the aisles. 

Read Plan I; that is, tell from the drawing, by using the scale, 
how many feet long and how many feet wide the object is. 


Scale: \ inch = 1 foot \ \ | ~ \ 

Plan I 

You should learn how to make use of a given scale because 
this knowledge is not only very helpful to boys and girls in reading 
maps, but it is also helpful in many other ways. When you under¬ 
stand the use of a scale, a map will tell you the exact distances 
between important cities and places of interest to you. Let us 
suppose your father is about to go to some distant city in the 
United States. You can tell from a good map, if you have a knowl¬ 
edge of the use of its scale, how many miles from home your father 
will be when he reaches his destination. 





6 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Head Plan II. Tell the exact measurement of the room 
the desk. 


SCHOOLROOM 


Desk 


Plan IT 


Scale: £ inch = 1 foot 












PLANS AND MAPS 


7 


Read Plan III. Tell how many desks there are in the room, the 
actual size of the desks, of the teacher s desk, of the room, and the 


Teacher’s 

Desk 


Plan III 


Scale: \ inch = 1 foot 































































































































8 HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY 

actual width and length of the aisles. How far is the teacher’s 
desk from the walls on either side ? 



Scale: \ inch = 1 foot 



















PLANS AND MAPS 


In the plans we have made we 
have omitted doors and windows. 

Let ns measure these objects, reduce 
the measurements to a scale, and 
place measurements in the plan 
where they belong. 

Read Plan IY. How wide are 
the doors on the plan ? How wide 
actually ? How wide are the windows ? How many windows are 
there ? 


Plan V 


Scale: 10 feet — 1 inch , or 
1 inch = 10 feet 



First-Floor Plan 












































































10 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Read Plan Y. Look at the scale. Take your rulers. Measure 
the length of one of the vertical lines. How long is the line? 
What does it stand for? Give the actual size of this figure. 

How many rooms on the floor on which your schoolroom is 
situated ? Can you draw a rough plan of this floor ? Look at Plan 
YI. It is the plan of a floor in a very small New York school. Can 
you read this plan? Study it. Find the location of the class 
rooms, the principal’s platform, the teacher’s room. On what scale 
is this plan drawn ? 



Plan VII 
























































PLANS AND MAPS 


11 


You have seen the plan of the floor and have found out 
something about it. Now let us look at Plan YII of the school- 
house itself. Will it help you to draw a rough plan of your own 
school building? I think so. 

You may now be anxious to see a picture of this school build¬ 
ing. Here it is. You have now seen the plan of the floor, the plan 
of the schoolhouse, 
and the picture of the 
schoolhouse. 

We have seen 
plans of desks, plans 
of rooms, a plan of a 
floor, and a plan of 
a small schoolhouse. 

Look at Plan VIII. 

What do you think 
it is? On what scale 
is it drawn ? How wide are the sidewalks ? How long is the 
street ? How wide is the roadway ? How wide and how deep is the 
corner flat? How wide and how deep is the schoolhouse? How 
many houses are there in this street ? How wide and how deep are 
some of them ? Can you sketch a rough plan of the street on which 
you live ? 

Plan IX is a plan of a square in New York city. Tell its 
name. Is it well known ? Where is this square ? Tell from the 
plan. Do you know the names of any large and important build¬ 
ings on or near this square ? What is the name of the park ? 
Read from the plan the names of the streets and avenues that 



Public School 31 , Staten Island 





12 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 










School 

Building 










Plan YIII 


Corner 

Flat 


Scale: \ inch — 1 foot 


5. 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 


n 


inclose or bound the park. Ask your teacher the meaning of the 
arrow on this plan. On what scale is this plan drawn? 
































PLANS AND MAPS 


13 



Madison Square 

















































14 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY 


Now look at the picture of this square and compare it with the 
plan. Only a part of the square can be seen. Point out on the 
plan the part of Madison square that can be seen in the picture. 

Now look at the plan or map of a section of the city on page 15. 
Compare it with the other plans. On what scale is this map drawn ? 
What have you noticed about the scales in the various plans, 
beginning with the desk and ending with the section of the city? 

Place these scales in 
order on a piece of paper 
and tell what you have 
noticed. 

We have been study¬ 
ing and reading plans. 
We have learned some¬ 
thing about the appear¬ 
ance and size of things 
when looked upon from 
above. We have read the 
plans of a desk, a room, a floor, a schoolhouse, a yard, a street, 
a square, and a section of the city. Now a map is also a plan, but 
a map is the plan of a large area or space on the surface of the 
earth, such as a city, a country, or an ocean. One great difference 
between a map and a plan is the size of the thing represented on 
paper: instead of a schoolroom we have a city; instead of desks 
we have houses; instead of aisles we have streets. We speak of 
the plan of a desk, the plan of a room, and the plan of a building. 
We speak of the map of a city, the map of a state, and the map of 
a country. 





PLANS AND MAPS 


15 


We have learned that a plan is not a picture because it is not a 
likeness; therefore a map, being a kind of a plan, is not a picture. 
It is not a likeness. A map is the plan of a city or a country, 
showing its shape, its size, the position of places and objects, and 
the direction of one place or object 
from another. 

In views of large surfaces from 
above, called bird’s-eye views, we 
cannot tell the height of things. 

We must have some way of show¬ 
ing height on a map. We have 
maps showing shape, size, and posi¬ 
tion, and we also have maps show¬ 
ing, in addition, shape, size, posi¬ 
tion, and the heights of hills and 
mountains. Every map has on it 
certain marks or symbols that have 
a meaning. 

You have seen the Hudson and 
the East rivers. You have seen straits, peninsulas, bays, and islands 
around our city. You have modeled these forms in a lower grade. 
You have seen how they looked in your sand trays or boxes. Now 
we shall see and learn how these forms look on a map. 












By courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History 



Relief Map 


1G 









CHAPTER II 


A RELIEF MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 

Here is a map. Why is it called a map ? You see it is a view 
obtained by looking downward from an airplane. It shows bow the 
land would appear if we looked down upon it. There are no bouses, 
no streets, and no ships to be seen. This map shows us bow the 
land would look if man were not living on it. It shows shape, 
size, and height. You can easily tell where the highlands are and 
where the lowlands are. This is a photograph of a relief map. 
On a relief map the hills and mountains are actually raised; on 
the map before you that is not the case. This is only a picture 
of elevations. By looking at a map of this kind you can tell where 
the highlands and the lowlands are. 

Try to make a relief map with putty or clay. It is the best kind 
for study because it gives a good idea of the surface of a country 
as well as of its shape and size. 

A map is almost always drawn so that the north is at the top 
of the page, the south is at the bottom of the page, the east is at 
the right hand, and the west is at the left hand. Point out the 
north part of the room in which you are. Where would you place 
that part of the room if you were to draw a plan of it on paper ? 

Touch on this map north, east, south, west. You see here repre¬ 
sentations of water and land. Which do you think is meant for 
water ? Which for land ? The great body of water represented on 
the south is called the ocean. An ocean is the largest body of 


18 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF HEW YOBK CITY 


water. This ocean is called the Atlantic ocean. Did yon ever see 
it ? Where? What can you tell about it? 

The line along which the land meets the ocean, or any large 
body of water, is called the shore line or the coast line. Run your 
finger along the coast line, as shown in the map. The narrow strip 
of land next the shore line or coast line is called the shore or coast. 
A part of the coast is sometimes called a beach. Did you ever visit a 
beach? Notice that on this map the coast is pictured as very much 
cut into in places by water. We say this coast is indented; that 
is, it looks as if pieces of land had been bitten out. These indenta¬ 
tions make the coast irregular. This irregularity gives us a longer 
coast line. Trace some of the indented places. Would the coast 
line be much shorter if there were no indentations ? The indented 
places, if deep, make the coast look prettier, and give ships a safe 
place in which to anchor. 

Near the southern part of the map you see represented a nar¬ 
row body of water between two larger bodies of water. This is 
called a strait. We call this strait The Narrows. The Narrows 
connects two larger bodies of water and separates two bodies of 
land. Point out the bodies of land which it separates and the bodies 
of water which it connects. Are there any other straits on the 
map ? Point them out. 

You see that the two bodies of water which The Narrows con¬ 
nects are partly inclosed by land. The one north of the strait, 
called upper New York bay, is almost entirely inclosed by land. 
Arms of the sea partly or almost inclosed by land are called bays. 

South of the strait is represented another bay, called lower 
New York bay. Point it out. Are there any other bays on this 


A RELIEF MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 


19 


map? Point them out. Count them. Of what use is a bay? Tell 
me anything you know about a bay. 

In upper New York bay you see representations of portions of 
land entirely surrounded by water. Point out as many of these as 
you can. We call these islands. What are islands? Look closely 
and you will find many, some large and some small. 

When looking for islands you may have noticed in the southern 
part of the map a strip of land that is almost surrounded by water. 
Of course such land cannot be called an island. It is nearly an 
island and is called a peninsula. This peninsula is called Sandy 
Hook. You will notice that there is generally a narrow strip of 
land joining a peninsula to a larger body of land. This strip of 
land is called an isthmus. Look for peninsulas and isthmuses. 
Draw a peninsula and its isthmus. Form them in clay or sand. 

You will notice on your map representations of points of land 
extending into the water. Such points of land are called capes. 
At the end of Sandy Hook there is a cape. Find other capes. 
Capes are dangerous to shipping. Lighthouses are frequently 
placed on capes to warn away sailors. 

Flowing into upper New York bay from the north you see two 
streams of water: the one to the west is called the Hudson river; 
the one to the east, the East river. Have you ever crossed either of 
these rivers? How? The East river is really not a river, as we 
shall learn later on. Flowing into upper New York bay from the 
west there is a stream of water known as the Kill van Kull; 
it connects upper New York bay with Newark bay. Bodies of 
water that connect two larger bodies of water are called straits, 
sounds, channels, or kills. See how many of these you can find. 



A PHYSICAL MAP 

Here is another map. 

Point out the north, east, south, and west. Point out the land, 
the ocean. Run your finger along the coast line. Point out the bays, 
the peninsulas, the straits, the islands, the capes, and the isthmus. 
Tell what each one is. Name a bay, a strait, a peninsula, a cape 
or point, and an island in the vicinity of New York. 

Maps are usually made on flat surfaces. They do not help us to 
picture to ourselves highlands and lowlands. We have, however, a 
number of ways of indicating high and low land on a map. You 
learned one way when studying the relief map. This map shows a 
second way of indicating high and low land. 

20 








A PHYSICAL MAP 


21 


You notice that there are various colors and shades of colors 
in your map. All these have a meaning. They tell a story. All 
maps do not have these colors, nor do all maps show height by 
means of colors. I will tell you, therefore, what the colors on this 
map mean. As a rule, you will find an explanation of the mean¬ 
ing of the colors in a corner of the map. Whenever you see any 
explanation on a map you should read it. 

The blue color indicates bodies of water. The dark green repre¬ 
sents land that is a little higher than the ocean level and rises as 
high above that level as one of the sky-scrapers of New York city. 
The lighter green represents land higher than that. The buff 
represents land still higher, the light brown still higher, and the 
dark brown stands for the highest land. The light markings in the 
dark brown show that ice and snow are found on top of this highest 
land. This coloring indicates land more than a mile high. Can you 
imagine how high that is ? 

What is your height ? What is the height of your schoolroom ? 
How many times your height is the schoolroom ? How high is your 
school building? Think of the Flatiron Building at Broadway, 
5th avenue, and 23d street, Manhattan. It looks very tall, but 
it is only three hundred feet high. How many times higher is 
the Flatiron Building than your school building? The land col¬ 
ored brown on the map is twenty times as high as the Flatiron 
Building. 

Point out the highest land shown on this map; the lowest land. 
In what direction from the lowland is the highland ? The colors show 
that the land slopes or becomes gradually lower toward the ocean. 
Place your finger on the highland. Follow slope to coast line. 


22 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


We often hear of people, wagons, and cars going uphill and 
downhill. We have hills in New York city. Do you know of any? 
Hills are high land that you can climb in a short time. When land 
is so high that it takes us a long time — hours — to get to the top, 
we call that land a mountain. There are not many people living in 
the mountains. Most people live in the lower lands. Now that 
you know the meaning of these colors, let us look at a few other 
things on the map. 

In the southeast corner you see a small patch of blue. The blue 
stands for water. Can you describe this body of water? What 
surrounds it ? Compare it with an island. Compare it with a 
peninsula. This patch of blue stands for a body of water sur¬ 
rounded by land. It is called a lake. Find other lakes on this map. 
After a heavy rain in the city you can find puddles of water 
formed in poorly paved streets. If there were a vacant lot near 
you and a very large puddle formed there, so that you could skate 
on it in winter, you would call it a pond. There is a pond in 
Central Park, near 59th street. A large pond is called a lake. 

There are large lakes and 
small lakes. Do you know of 
any lakes in our city ? 

Look again at the lake 
in the southeast corner of 
your map. You see a black, 
winding line coming out of 
it. Follow this line with your 
finger. Where does it lead to ? Is this second lake on higher or 
lower land than the first lake? What direction does this winding 



A Stream in Dry Weather 




A PHYSICAL MAP 


23 


line take? Is the direction towards higher land or lower land? 
This black, winding line shows the location and direction of a 
river in this country. Where does the river begin, in what direc¬ 
tion does it flow, and where does it end ? Point out all the rivers 



Snow-Covered Mountain 


on this map. See how many you can find. Where does the water 
in a river come from ? Did you ever think of that when you were 
looking at the mighty Hudson ? 

Where does the river we were speaking about get its water ? 

Yes, some rivers get their water from lakes ; such rivers are 
the outlets of the lakes. 

In the southwestern part of this country you see mountains 
covered with snow and ice. Look closely and you will see a num¬ 
ber of rivers flowing in different directions from this snow-covered 
mountain. Where do these rivers get their water? Some rivers 
get their water from melting snow and ice. 

In the eastern part of this country you see other rivers. Do 
they get their waters from lakes, or from melting ice and snow ? 
They certainly do not get their water from lakes, for we see no lakes 




24 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 




indicated on the map. They do not get their water from melting 
ice and snow, for we see no snow-covered highlands indicated here. 

Let ns see where they do 
get their water. When there 
is a heavy rainfall in the city 
you notice that the water 
rushes through the streets, 
follows the slight slope of the 
street to the gutter, and flows 
down the gutters to the sewer 
openings. From there it flows through the sewers to the river and 
the ocean. If all the land were smooth or level, the rain water 
falling upon it would not run off, and the land would be flooded. 
But the land is not smooth or level. It slopes in some direction. 


A Stream in Rainy Weather 


Relief Map showing Drainage 

Let us suppose that there was a heavy rainfall in the highland 
just spoken of. Put your finger on the highland. What becomes 
of the rain water ? Some of it soaks into the ground • some of it 














A PHYSICAL MAP 


25 


runs off along the slope in rills. But what becomes of the water 
that soaks into the ground ? Where does it go ? Some of it gives 
drink and nourishment to the plants that grow in the soil. Most of 
it sinks into the ground until it comes to rock through which it 
cannot pass. It then flows along underground until it finally comes 
to the surface again as a spring. These springs sometimes form lakes 
and sometimes rills. Rills form brooks and brooks form rivers. 
You see that much of the rain water that falls on the earth finally 
finds its way to rivers. Rivers flow into the ocean and thus rain¬ 
drops are carried back to the ocean. 

The heat of the sun draws quantities of water up into the air as 
vapor. Vapor forms clouds and clouds give out rain, snow, hail, and 
sleet, which we speak of as rainfall. Rainfall furnishes the ice and 
snow on high mountains and the water in springs, lakes, and rivers. 

The place where a river rises is called its source. The place 
where it empties is called its mouth. Point out the source and the 
mouth of some of the rivers on this map. As a river flows towards 
the sea or ocean it grows larger and deeper. How is that shown on 
your map ? 

Look at the river flowing through the middle of this country. 
What do you see flowing into it from the east and the west ? These 
rivers are feeders to the main river. Such rivers are called tribu¬ 
taries. You see tributaries coming from the east and from the 
west. Look at them. What can you say about the slope of the 
land on these two sides of the main river ? Where do the slopes 
meet ? Point out all the tributaries you see. A river with all its 
tributaries is called a river system. Do you see some rivers without 
tributaries ? 


26 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


All along the course of a river water flows into it from the 
land that forms its banks. What are the banks of a river ? Where 
is the right bank ? Where is the left bank ? Of what use is a river 
besides draining the land ? Think of the Hudson river. Of what 
use are rivers to people living on or near their banks ? Of what 
use were rivers before people lived here ? 

In the eastern part of this country you will see one river 
flowing in a northeasterly direction, and another not far from it 

flowing in a south¬ 
westerly direction. 
Why is that ? What 
can you say about 
the slope of the land 
in this place ? 

Most of the rivers 
shown in this map 
rise in the mountains 
and flow towards the 
plain. Where are the 
plains or low stretches of gently sloping land ? The source of a river 
is higher than its mouth. Find the mouth of each river on this map. 

Look at the mouth of the great river flowing through the mid¬ 
dle of -this country, and then look at the mouth of the river east of 
it. Are they alike? One river seems to flow directly into the sea. 
The other river seems to have many mouths by which it reaches 
the sea. Let us see why this river has so many mouths. Put some 
sand or mud in a bottle of water. Shake it up well, and then let 
the water come to rest. What happens? Why does this happen? 



A Dam 







A PHYSICAL MAP 


27 


Remember what you have observed; it will help you to understand 
the next paragraph. 

This great river, as we know, drains the land. As it flows 
through the country it carries with it large quantities of sand and 
mud. This sand and mud are not carried out far into the ocean 
and scattered there; they settle down at the mouth of the river. 
When mud and sand settle at the mouth of a river many low 
islands are formed, and the river finds its way between them to the 
sea. Such a mouth is 
called a delta. 

In some rivers the 
flow of water is so 
swift and the tides and 
currents in the sea are 
so strong at the mouth 
that the mud is carried 
out far into the sea. 

The mud and sand cannot settle, and no delta is formed. Some 
rivers do not carry down much soil on their way to the ocean. Did 
you ever hear any one speak of low tide and high tide ? 

Now that you know something about a river and about its 
source, would you call the East river a river? Turn to a map of 
New York city. Put your finger on the river’s location on the 
map. Follow its course. Where does it come from ? Is it a river ? 
If not a river, then what is it ? Look at the Harlem river. Study 
it in the same way. Is the Harlem a river ? 

Now turn again to the map we are studying. Observe it closely. 
Would you say that this country is mountainous? Mountains 



Delta in a River Mouth (looking Downstream) 








28 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


are very high hills. Sometimes they are so high that the tops 
are always covered with snow. When many mountains are in 
a line or row we call them a mountain chain. Are there any 
such on this map? Where are the mountain chains? In what 
direction do they extend ? Where are ’ the highlands ? Where are 
the lowlands? 

In the northwestern, portion of the map you see a stretch of 
land marked in buff color. It seems very high and level, almost 



A Mountain Chain 


like the top of a table. It is not colored green, because it is not 
lowland, yet it is level like lowland. We call such stretches of 
high and almost level slopes tablelands or plateaus. 

We have in New York city what we call a plateau. It is really 
not one, but from it you can get a very good idea of what a 
tableland looks like. You can reach this plateau by climbing the 
stairs in Morningside Park. The new Cathedral and St. Luke’s 
Hospital are on this plateau. Tablelands are, however, much higher 
than this. 

Look again at the mountain range in the eastern part of the 
map. You notice one river flowing northeast and another flowing 






A PHYSICAL MAP 


29 


southwest. We call this mountain range a divide or water parting, 
because the rain water falling upon one side of this range of moun¬ 
tains flows one way, and that falling on the other side flows the 
other way. Make a mountain range of clay and pour water on top 
of it. Tell what happens. 

The two rivers you were looking at flow down into valleys. 
The divide or water parting is between two valleys; it separates 
them. Valleys are the 
low land found in hilly 
or mountainous coun¬ 
tries. Water runs 
away from hills into 
valleys. Rivers carry 
soil from hills and 
mountains into valleys, 
where great farms are 
found. Most of the 
people of the earth live in valleys; railroads are usually built there. 
Sometimes valleys are narrow, sometimes so broad that we cannot 
see any hills or mountains; they may also be long or short. 

On the large river flowing through the middle of this country, 
near its mouth, that is, where it flows into the ocean, you see a 
roundish mark. Such a mark, sometimes only a dot, sometimes 
a small circle, indicates the location of a city. A city is a place 
where many people live. Find the location of other cities on this 
map. On what are most of them situated ? Why is this ? Do 
you find most of them in mountains or in the lower lands ? Why 
do you think they are there ? How do the people in a city make 



A Divide 






30 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 

a living ? Are there any cities on this map not situated on rivers ? 
Tell where they are. Do you think they are large cities ? What 
reason can you give for your answer? Think about New York 
city. It lies in a plain, at the mouth of a great river, and is easily 
reached from the ocean. Do you think these facts have anything 
to do with the greatness of New York city? 

Describe the difference in occupation between the people living 
in the country and those living in the city. What is a farm ? Do 
you find large farms on the mountains or in the valleys? What 
kind of water do you find in lakes, in rivers, and in the ocean? 

Look at the course of the great river flowing through the 
middle of this country. Why is it not west of its present course ? 
In answering this question remember the meaning of the colors. 
Look at some of the other rivers and tell what you think fixed 
their course. 

By using the scale, tell the width of the isthmus in the north¬ 
western portion of the map; the length of the peninsula. Find the 
width of the strait. Find the length of the river flowing through 
the middle of the country. Find the length of the mountain chain 
in the southern part of this country. Find the length of the rail¬ 
road connecting the city on the harbor with the city on the river. 
Find the length of the canal. Cities, towns, railroads, canals, forts, 
tunnels, lighthouses, boundaries, and names of places are the works 
of man. 

Collect as many pictures as you can of mountains, rivers, capes, 
seas, peninsulas, isthmuses, islands, and all other features we have 
been studying. Arrange them under separate headings. Study 
them; ask questions about them. 
















































































































































THE M.*N. works, BUPFAiO 




































































































































































































































CHAPTER IV 


A POLITICAL MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 

Now that we know what a map is, let us learn something about 
our own New York city, the largest city in the world, the city of 
giant bridges. We are proud of it because it is our home, because 
of its excellent schools, parks, playgrounds, libraries,'and museums, 
its many hospitals and dispensaries, its asylums for poor children, 
and its homes for aged people. 

In the year 1609 Henry Hudson sailed into lower New York 
bay. Put your finger on the bay and follow him in his journey. 
Use the political map and the relief map wherever necessary. Sail¬ 
ing past Sandy Hook, he saw on his left the hilly stretch of land cov¬ 
ered with trees which we now call Staten Island. On his right he 
saw a long, white, sandy beach, with a rolling wooded country 
behind it. This is now known as Coney Island beach, and the 
wooded country behind it is now Brooklyn. Did you point out 
these places ? 

Sailing on, he passed through The Narrows into upper New 
York bay, a large and safe harbor. As he sailed northward he 
saw beautiful, wooded shores on the east and west, and in the bay 
several small islands. 

At the northern end of the bay he saw a flat tongue of land 
that lay between two rapid currents of water. Put your finger on 
the tongue. Henry Hudson was looking only for a water way, and 

he gave little attention to this narrow strip of land. He passed it 

31 


82 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


and sailed up the stream to the west of the land. What is this 
stream now called ? He noticed that there was a gradual rising of 
the land towards the north on the east shore of the river. Look at 
the relief map for this. This gradual rising of the land was quite 
suddenly ended by wooded cliffs and a silvery creek, which we now 
call Spuyten Duyvil creek. Find this creek on your maps. The flat 
tongue of land that Hudson saw was the southern end of Manhattan, 
and the silvery creek marked the northern end of it. 

The two rapid currents that swept around the southern end of 
Manhattan are now called the Hudson river and the East river. 

Henry Hudson had 
sailed from one end 
of Manhattan to the 
other. While sailing 
by he noticed that this 
land was covered with 
low hills and slopes, 
on which grew lofty 
trees and thickets of 
underbrush. He also 
saw a few brooks flow¬ 
ing into the Hudson river from it. These brooks showed that there 
were springs and ponds in the interior of the island. When opposite 
Spuyten Duyvil he saw on the west bank of the river a line of cliffs 
that rise abruptly from the shore. We now call these cliffs the 
Palisades. Look at your relief map. 

Point out Spuyten Duyvil creek, lower New York bay, The 
Narrows, upper New York bay, the Palisades. 





A POLITICAL MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 


33 



On the east and west of Manhattan there are two streams of 
deep water — the East river and the Hudson river — which unite 
at the southern end of the island in upper New York bay. On the 
north and the east are Spuy- 


ten Duy vil creek, the Harlem 
river, and the East river. 

In sailing from The Nar¬ 
rows through upper New 
York bay and'the East river 
we pass the following islands: 

Oyster, Liberty, Ellis, Gov¬ 
ernor’s, Welfare, Ward’s, 
and Randall’s. Oyster island 
is so small that it is not shown 
on this map. 

Next to the giant bridges, 
what is the most striking 
object in the waters around 
New York city ? It is on an 
island. What island is it on ? 

On one of the islands named 
above there is a fort, and many soldiers live on this island. It can 
be distinctly seen from the Battery. What is its name ? There is 
another island in the bay on which immigrants are landed. Immi¬ 
grants are people who come to our country to make it their new 
home. Hid you ever hear any one speak of this island? Perhaps 
some one can tell us its name. Can any one tell the nationality of 
some of the people who land on this island ? 


Copyrighted, 1894, by J. S. Johnston, New York 

Statue of Liberty 





34 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF HEW YOEK CITY 


When sailing through the East river you pass a long and nar¬ 
row island; it is very attractive in appearance. Many large build¬ 
ings are on it, which shelter prisoners, blind, aged, and poor people, 
the insane and the sick poor. Its location is beautiful. Did you eTer 
hear its name ? Do you not think it would make a beautiful park ? 

On Ward’s island, just northeast of Welfare, there is a large 
asylum for the insane and a hospital for poor immigrants. North 
of Ward’s island there is another island. Look at the list above. 
You have learned the names and location of all but-this. What is 
its name ? On it there is an asylum for idiots, and hospitals and 
schools for children. The House of Refuge is also on this island. 

The city of New York is at the mouth of the Hudson river. 
It is thirty miles long and extends from Yonkers on the north to 
the southwest point of Staten Island. Look at your map and tell 
what county, what two bays, and what kill are north of New York 
city. What sound and county are east of it ? What ocean and 
what two bays are south of it ? What kill, what bay, and what 
river are west of it ? 

Since 1898 the city of New York consists of five boroughs. They 
are Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Richmond. Point 
them out. Look at them and write down the name of the one you 
think the largest; the smallest. Which is the second largest; the 
third; the fourth ? Which of these boroughs do you think has the 
greatest number of people living in it ? The order as to the number 
of people or population is: (1) Manhattan, (2) Brooklyn, (3) The 
Bronx, (4) Queens, (5) Richmond. 

Write on a piece of paper the names of the five boroughs, one 
under the other. At the side of each write one number to show its 


A POLITICAL MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 


35 


rank in population, and another number to show its rank in size. 
Manhattan will look like this in your table. 


Borough 

Population 

Size 

Manhattan 

1 

5 


The city of New York has a population of nearly 6,000,000. 

How many children are there in your class ? Ask your teacher 
to tell you how many pupils there are in your school, how many 
people live in your school district, and how many children in the 
city attend the public schools. Write these numbers and compare 
them with 6,000,000. 










Copyrighted, 1902, by Moses King 

Bird’s-Eye View of Manhattan 


36 





CHAPTER V 


TOPOGRAPHY 

Let us take up each borough and study it by itself. Let us look 
at the relief and the political maps while studying. 

Manhattan. The borough of Manhattan is an island. It is 
somewhat rectangular in shape and extends north and south. 

At the bottom of the political map you will find a scale. Find 
the length of the island by using this scale. Measure the narrowest 
part between the Hud¬ 
son and the Harlem 
rivers. Measure the 
width from a point 
opposite Randall’s 
island to the Hudson 
river, and from a point 
opposite Welfare 
island to the Hudson 
river. Now measure 
across that part of the 
island opposite Brooklyn which you consider the widest. From 
your measurements tell how long the island is; how wide it is. 
Draw a map of the island quickly and roughly without looking 
at the map. 

The southern end of the island is low; the northern end is high. 
Point to the southern end, then to the northern end. Throughout 

37 



View looking North, Many Years ago, from 
SCHOOLHOUSE IN 42d STREET, BETWEEN 2d AND 
3d Avenues 





88 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OP HEW YOBK CITY 


the greater part of the length of Manhattan there is a central ridge 
of rock sloping to the west, east, and south. Look at your relief 
map. In what direction will the drainage be ? Broadway is a good 
guide as to the general direction of the ridge. There were lower 
ridges to the east of Broadway in early times. The ridge of rock 
running in the general direction of Broadway is the backbone of 
the island. In some places this rock rises over two hundred feet 
above the level of the sea. In such places we have a hill. In other 

places the rock is be¬ 
low the surface of the 
streets, where it can¬ 
not be seen. 

When erecting sky¬ 
scrapers in the lower 
section of Manhattan 
builders are often com¬ 
pelled to dig down 
nearly one hundred 
feet to reach rock for 
the foundation. Can you picture to yourself a great mass of 
rock far below the surface of the street? l r ou cannot see it 
because it is covered with soil. But let us think that you can 
see it. Can you then imagine this rock extending northward and 
coming nearer and nearer to the surface until at last it comes 
out of the ground ? This mass of rock begins to show itself above 
the surface in some places, as at Murray Hill and in Central Park. 
From Central Park it continues to remain in view to the end oi 
the island. 





TOPOGRAPHY 


39 



The highest lands of Manhattan extend from Riverside Drive 
to the northern end of the island. This ridge of highland is 
broken by two valleys,—one at Manhattanville (125th street 
west), and one at Tubby Hook or In wood (Dyckman street). It is 
at the Manhattanville valley that the trains of the subway come 


Harlem Ship Canal 

out of the ground and cross the valley on tracks that are far above 
the level of the street. Dyckman street is in the valley at Tubby 
Hook. Beautiful and striking views of the Hudson river may be 
obtained at Grant’s tomb, overlooking the valley at Manhattan¬ 
ville, and at Fort George, overlooking the depression at Inwood. 

The ridge is broken again at the end of the island. Here is 
Spuyten Duyvil creek, which separates this part of Manhattan 












40 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


from The Bronx. The ridge is also cut through by the Harlem 
ship canal. 

Battery Park is made land. Between this park and 23d street 
there were at one time many hills, consisting of sand, gravel, 

stones, and earth. These were 
cut down as the city grew 
northward. Between 23d and 
120th streets many rocky hills 
were leveled as the land was 
prepared for dwelling houses. 
In these parts of Manhattan 
the up and down grades of 
the streets show the former 
irregularity of the surface. Do you know of any such streets ? 

When you visit Columbia College, or St. Luke’s Hospital you 
are on the top of a part of the ridge. This part of Manhattan is 
called Cathedral plateau, and gets 
its name from the new cathedral 
there. Morningside Park is the 
sloping land on the side of Cathe¬ 
dral plateau. From Morningside 
Park to the Harlem river there 
is a plain called the Harlem Flats. 

There is a ridge of rock in this 
plain, a part of which can be 
plainly seen at Mt. Morris Park. 

It may interest you to see and write about specimens of rocks 
constituting the backbone of Manhattan. They may be found in 



Old View of Washington Heights: 
East Angle of Fort Washington 



Remains of Fort George (1857) 





TOPOGRAPHY 


41 


the collection of Manhat¬ 
tan island rocks at the 
American Museum of 
Natural History. 

Which borough is 
north of Manhattan? 

Which borough is east of it 
across the river ? Mention 
once more the islands be¬ 
longing to Manhattan, beginning with those in upper New York bay. 

The Bronx. The borough of The Bronx is almost a square. On 
your political map measure its length and its width. Tell its 
boundaries. What river flows through this borough? Can you 
name any one of the islands in the waters that touch the shore 
line of the borough? Name one just outside of the borough that 
is a great pleasure resort. 

In this borough you will find a rolling country. There are 

parallel lines of 
rocky hills running 
north and south. 
Between Tibbett’s 
brook and the 
Hudson river there 
is a ridge that ex¬ 
tends from Spuy- 
ten Duyvil creek 
to and beyond the city line. East of Tibbett’s brook there is a plateau 
formed by the union of two ridges coming from the southern part 











42 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 

of the borough. These two ridges begin at or near Melrose and 
unite north of Morris Dock. Find Melrose. Find Morris Dock. You 
have seen the place where the ridges begin and where they unite. 

East of the Bronx river there is another ridge extending from 
Unionport to the city line. Between these parallel ridges we find 
the valleys of the rivers and creeks of the borough. 



Harlem River looking South above Washington Bridge 


The valleys of the Bronx river and of the other little streams 
are in limestone. Limestone is a rock that is more readily worn 
away than the harder rocks forming the higher ridges. As years 
passed this softer rock was carved out into lower channels. 









TOPOGEAPHY 


43 


Through these channels the drainage naturally pours in the general 
flow to the southeast. The Bronx river divides the borough into 
two nearly equal parts. 

The Harlem and the 
East rivers have lime¬ 
stone floorings also. 

Brooklyn. Brooklyn 
is somewhat rectangu¬ 
lar in shape. You may 
study on the political 
map the boundaries of 
this borough. Measure 
its greatest length and 
width. What creek and The B R0NX : Old View from Valentine’s Hill 

what borough are on 
the north ? What bor¬ 
ough and what bay are 
on the east and south¬ 
east? What is south 
of it? What do you 
find on its western 
boundary ? Where are 
Gravesend, Gowanus, 
and Wallabout bays? 
What island is south 
of Brooklyn ? What is 
this island famous for ? Why do we go there ? Can you name some 
of the things you have seen there ? Name the beaches on this island. 



Old View from Gowanus Heights, Brooklyn 






ATlSfiTIC on"* 



44 


Bird’s-Eye View of Brooklyn 









TOPOGRAPHY 


45 


Look for another island east of Coney Island. When reading about 
the street-cleaning department in this book your teacher will tell 
you what is done on this island with some of the refuse of the city. 

The backbone of Brooklyn consists of a chain of low hills 
extending from the bay shore at Fort Hamilton in a northeasterly 
direction. Look at the 
relief map. This chain 
of low hills passes 
through Greenwood 
cemetery, Prospect 
Park, and East New 
York into the borough 
of Queens. Do you see 
the direction on the 
relief map? This chain 
of hills is not a rocky 
ridge. It is made up 
of loose material, such 
as cobblestones, bowlders, clay, sand, and gravel. From these hills 
the land slopes gently towards the north. South of this chain of 
hills the land is low and in some places marshy. 

Along the shore opposite the lower point of Manhattan there 
is an irregular bluff known as Brooklyn Heights. Between Fort 
Hamilton and Evergreen cemetery much of the surface has been 
changed by the grading of the streets. 

Queens. The borough of Queens is the largest and is very irreg¬ 
ular in shape, with deep indentations on the north. Measure its 
greatest length and width. Tell its boundaries. Name two bays on 






46 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 





Newtown Creek Bridge 

line. The drainage is 
north and south from this 
chain of hills. There is 
marshy land in the south¬ 
ern part of the borough. 

The hills of Queens 
are not of a rocky char¬ 
acter, but consist of loose 
material and are like the 


the northern shore. What beach 
is on the southern shore? What 
bay is in the southern part? 

The chain of hills which runs 
through Greenwood cemetery and 
Prospect Park in Brooklyn con¬ 
tinues through Evergreen ceme¬ 
tery, the Brooklyn reservoir, Forest 
Park, Richmond Hill, Maple Grove, 
and onward in a northeasterly 
direction to and beyond the city 


Hammel Station, Jamaica Bay 


hills of Brooklyn. They 
are made up of sand, 
gravel, and loose rocks or 
bowlders. In days long 
past this material was 
brought down from the 
north by ice sheets or 
glaciers. The slopes of 


Hammel Station, Fishing Club House 
















TOPOGRAPHY 


47 


these hills are abrupt and steep northward, and more gentle and 
gradual southward. Reler to relief map while studying. 



Rockaway Beach Scene 


Richmond. The borough of Richmond is an island triangular 
in shape. Measure its greatest length and width. You may study 
its boundaries. Why do we 
call it an island ? Beginning 
at The Narrows, trace around 
it and mention all the bodies 
of water that touch it. Are 
there any popular beaches on 
Staten Island ? Find Hoff¬ 
man and Dix islands. There 
is a broad central range of low hills extending across the island. 
The range extends in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction 



Sailors’ Snug Harbor 












48 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


from St. George to Tottenville. From St. George to Richmond, at 
the center of the island, this ridge is rocky in character. In the 
center of Staten Island there are points that reach a height of three 
hundred feet above sea level. 

At Richmond this rocky ridge sinks into the Fresh Kills meadows, 
which extend into the island from the west. South of these mead¬ 
ows the ridge is no 
longer rocky, but 
consists of stones, 
earth, bowlders, 
clay, sand, and 
gravel. The western 
slope from the cen¬ 
tral ridge is gentle; 
the eastern slope is 
abrupt. 

There are abrupt highlands in the eastern elbow of the island. 
South of this elbow much of the land consists of salt marshes extend¬ 
ing along the coast to Great Kills. Along the shores of Arthur Kill 
there are salt marshes extending from Newark bay to Rossville. 

The gravel and sand hills of Staten Island are like those of the 
boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. They have been formed in the 
same way. 

Note for the Teacher : The Hudson river, emptying into the harbor of New York 
(formerly an inland lake), passed out to sea through The Narrows, which now separates 
Long Island and Staten Island. The ocean level has risen, and now the tides move upward 
into the harbor of the city and through the East river and the Harlem river. Explain briefly 
how the seacoast is sinking, and how coast lines undergo change. Ask the children living near 
our coast line to tell you something about the tides. 



Glacier bringing down Sand, Gravel, Loose Rocks, 


and Bowlders 





Old-Time Picture of New York Bay and The Narrows 
V iew from Staten Island 


CHAPTER VI 

NEW YORK HARBOR: ITS APPROACHES AND CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS 

New York harbor is one of the finest and safest havens in the 
world. It consists of two bodies of water connected by The Nar¬ 
rows. Tell the name of the water south of The Narrows; also the 
name of the water north of The Narrows. Lower New York bay 
is protected from the ocean by Sandy Hook. It is more open and 
exposed than upper New York bay and is not so safe a harbor. 
Upper New York bay is almost inclosed by land. Name the land 
that almost incloses it. 


49 









50 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 




Excursion Barge and Tug 


A safe harbor contributes to the prosperity of a city. The 
harbor of New York has to a great extent been responsible for the 

rapid growth of our city. 
Let us see how it is ap¬ 
proached from the ocean. 
Take your map and trace 
the routes as they are 
named. 

There are three ap¬ 
proaches to upper New 
York bay from the Atlan¬ 
tic ocean: one is by Long 
Island sound through the 
East river, another by the lower New York bay through The Narrows, 
and a third by lower New York bay around Staten Island through 
Arthur Kill and Kill 
van Kull. 

The principal 
approach from the 
Atlantic ocean is 
through lower New 
York bay and The 
Narrows. Almost 
all direct communi¬ 
cation with the com¬ 
mercial centers of the world by means of steamship and sailing 
vessel is carried on through this approach. The Long Island route 
is used principally by pleasure craft, passenger steamboats, and 


Ocean Steamer 








NEW YORK HARBOR 


51 


vessels engaged in commerce along the sound and the New England 
coast. The route through Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull is used 
only by small vessels. 

On the waters of New 
York city one sees ships from 
every large port in the world, 
which bring and take away 
valuable cargoes. Here we 
may see the giant passenger 
vessels from European ports 
gracefully wending their way 
to their wharves; the heavy 
freight-bearing vessels; the tramp steamers; the railroad barges 
slowly and cumbersomely threading their way through numberless 
craft: the stately and picturesque sailing vessel; the beautiful pri¬ 
vate steam yacht; the excursion boat filled with pleasure seekers; 

the skillfully piloted 
ferryboat; the heav¬ 
ily laden, slowly 
moving canal boats 
in tow; occasionally 
a ship of war neat 
and trim; and here 
and there scows 
laden with the city’s 
refuse. Last but not least, we see the saucy, ever busy tugboat, that 
lends vivacity to the scene as it hurries from place to place, or arouses 
wonder and admiration as it puffs merrily along dragging its heavy 



One of the War Vessels, or Cruisers, that are 

ALWAYS READY TO GO TO ANY PORT IN THE WORLD 
TO GUARD THE COMMERCE OR OTHER INTERESTS OF 

the United States 



Copyright, 1900, by Detroit Photographic Company 

Canal Boats 








52 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 



load, or pulls, pushes, and coaxes a giant 
sister ship into the home wharf. 

Where are the bow and stern of a 
ship ? What is a brig ? What is a schooner? 
What is a sloop ? When you cross our 
rivers and bays try to name the different 
kinds of boats you see. How does a 
boat sailing into a harbor indicate its 
nationality ? 

The situation of New York is favor¬ 
able to the docking of ships of all sizes. 
In order that a city may become a great 
center of the shipping trade, something 
more is needed than a large and safe 
harbor. That something is many miles 
of water front, where piers and docks 
may be built for the largest vessels. 
Look at your map. Trace the water 
front around the upper bay, along both 
sides of Manhattan, along the Brooklyn 
shores, and along the shores of the 
borough of The Bronx and Queens. The 
miles of water front now in use have 
helped to make New York the principal 
city on the western continent. New 
York still has miles of water front 
where there are no docks. Along the 
water front in the shipping districts 




NEW YORK HARBOR 


53 


there are a great number of wharves and piers jutting out into the 
water. In the docks thus formed the water is deep enough to allow 
the entrance and mooring of the heaviest and largest ships. Here 
they are unladen and laden. From the time of the arrival of a ship 
until its departure the pier presents a busy scene. Did you ever watch 
this scene ? Thousands of men are employed to handle the cargoes 
of vessels, and thousands of trucks carry the merchandise to the 



New York and Brooklyn Bridge 


warehouses, factories, railroad stations, and other places of destina¬ 
tion. Then begins the task of loading, and supplying them with 
coal and provisions. When all is ready a new trip is begun. 

We find a great number of landing places for ships along the 
east and west sides of Manhattan and along the shores of Brooklyn, 
Queens, New Jersey, and Staten Island. Many of the ships coming to 
our shores carry only merchandise and others carry passengers also. 

The principal shipping district is below 34th street on both 
sides of Manhattan. In Brooklyn the great piers are found in the 
Erie and the Atlantic basins. Find the location of these basins on 
the map. 







54 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


The great ocean steamers have their landing places on the 
Hudson river between 34th and Canal streets, Manhattan, and on 
the Jersey coast opposite. 

Along the water front on the land side of Manhattan and 
Brooklyn there are found great warehouses and many factories. 

Upper New York bay can be approached by water ways from 
the interior of our country as well as from the Atlantic ocean. 
Ask your teacher to show you a map of New York state. Find 



Copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood 

Sky line of New York 


where the Hudson river empties into New York bay. Follow up 
the Hudson river to Albany. Here is one end of the Erie canal. 
Trace the route of the Erie canal. To what lake does it lead? 
What lake and what river does this canal connect? Boston and 
Philadelphia were more important cities than New York before 
this canal was built. The Erie canal and the Hudson river form 
a water way from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic ocean. This 
water way gives us a very large Western trade. Many of the canal 
boats you see in our rivers and bay have come through the Erie canal. 
















CHAPTER VII 


TRANSPORTATION 




When New York city was small the people worked in the 
southern part of Manhattan and lived near their places of business. 
In those days a man could 
easily walk the short dis¬ 
tance from his home to his 
business. The city grew, 
and people were obliged 
to live farther away from 
the business district. They 
could no longer walk this 
distance night and morn¬ 
ing with comfort, and so 
stages came into use. The city continued to grow, and the distance 

between the home and the 
place of employment be¬ 
came still greater. Horse 
cars were then introduced 
because they were quicker, 
more reliable, and more con¬ 
venient than stages. The 
cars carried people north 

~ c n and south, and east and west 

Old View of Vandewater Street, Corner 7 

of Frankfort Street to the ferries and bridges. 


Old View of Trinity Place, behind 
Trinity Church 


55 










EAST RIVER 

\ 


The Ratzen Map of New York 

56 



















TRANSPORTATION 


57 




Old Hopper House, 2d Avenue and 
83d Street 


As the population increased and people moved still farther north, 
it became tiresome to the people of Manhattan to travel these long 
distances in horse cars. It 
was then that many New 
York business men went to 
live in small towns in New 
Jersey and Long Island. 

The city still continued 
to grow northward, and so 
many people living in Man¬ 
hattan and The Bronx went 
south to business in the 
morning and again north 
to their homes in the evening that the cars were always overcrowded. 

Now the skyscraper began to make its appearance and replaced 

smaller buildings in 
the lower section of 
the city. The new 
buildings contained 
many rooms and ac¬ 
commodated many 
more workers than 
the old buildings. 
This increased the 
number of workers 
in the business sec¬ 
tions and made it 
still more difficult to settle the question of transportation. 


Old View of Railroad Depot on 4th Avenue, 
Corner of 27th Street 








58 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


The horse cars and elevated railroads no longer met the demands 
made upon them. The electric surface roads were then built and 

were soon followed by 
the underground rail¬ 
road. You know that 
at the present time all 
cars on the railroads 
are overcrowded at 
certain hours in spite 
of the fact that we 
have motor-busses, 
surface railroads, elevated railroads, and underground railroads. 

Manhattan is long and narrow. The distances from avenue to 
avenue are long, but from street to street they are short. Look at a 
map. This system of planning streets, together with the narrowness 
of the island, gave very 
few streets running north 
and south. Those who 
planned the streets did 
not give Manhattan many 
north and south lines of 
travel. The army of 
workers of Manhattan 
and The Bronx go south 
in the morning and north 
in the evening. During 
certain morning and evening hours the travel is nearly all in one 
direction. These are the causes of overcrowding. 














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59 


Sky-Scrapers of Lower Manhattan. Picture taken from an Airplane 


























60 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Two elevated railroad routes are on the west side of Manhattan 
and two are on the east side. The west side elevated railroad runs 
from the Battery to 155th street. The east side elevated railroad 
runs from the Battery into the borough of The Bronx as far as 
Bronx Park. Look up these terminals on your maps. In Brooklyn 
the elevated railroad routes lead to the East river. 

The Manhattan subway runs on the west side from one end of the 
island to the other and continues to Yan Cortlandt Park. At 104th 
street a branch turns east, then runs north again on Lenox avenue, 
dips under the Harlem river, enters the borough of The Bronx, 
and terminates at Bronx Park. The subway also connects with a 
tunnel passing under the East river to Brooklyn, and has stations 
at the Brooklyn Borough Hall, Atlantic avenue, Prospect Park, etc. 
The various subway hues are being extended and new lines and 
branch lines are being built. Tell the different modes of travel in 
New York. What is meant by the third rail ? Why did the people 
demand rapid transit ? 

At present there are two great railroad stations in Manhattan. 
One is the Grand Central station at East 42d street. To this station 
come the trains of the New York Central and Hudson River railroad, 
the New York and Harlem railroad, and the New York, New Haven, 
and Hartford railroad. The other great railroad station is the Penn¬ 
sylvania at 32d street and 7th avenue. The Long Island railroad has 
a station on Flatbush avenue, Brooklyn, and in the Pennsylvania 
station, Manhattan. The central station of the Staten Island rapid 
transit railroad is at St. George, Richmond. Here is also the 
terminus of a branch line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It 
is a freight depot. 



• Copyrighted, 1904, by Moses King 

Queensboro Bridge 


CHAPTER VIII 

BRIDGES AND TUNNELS 

What rivers flow through New York city ? What river sepa¬ 
rates it from New Jersey ? For many years people wishing to cross 
these rivers had to use boats. At first they used rowboats, then 
sailboats, and finally steamboats. As the city grew in population, it 
was found that ferryboats could not accommodate the people wish¬ 
ing to cross the river at certain points, nor could the boats carry 
all the horses and wagons needed for the increasing traffic. Over 
the narrower streams wooden bridges had been built, but people 
living on the opposite sides of the Hudson and East rivers had to 
depend on ferries. The city kept on growing, and something had 
to be done to accommodate the people who lived in Brooklyn and 
worked in Manhattan. Two things could be done to help these 
people : one was to build bridges, and the other was to build tunnels. 
It was decided to do the former. 

61 




62 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


The beginning of the twentieth century finds the city of New 
York well equipped in the number and character of its bridges. 
No city in the world has so many giant bridges. 

The Harlem river is spanned by fifteen bridges, among which 
the Washington bridge, at West 181st street, is probably the finest 
of its kind in the world. South of it is High bridge, which carries 

the old Croton aqueduct 
across the Harlem. It is a 
magnificent example of a 
stone bridge. The railroad 
bridge at Park avenue is one 
of the most noteworthy of 
its kind. The Harlem ship 
canal and Spuyten Duyvil 
creek are spanned by 
bridges. 

The East river was first 
spanned by the New York 
and Brooklyn bridge. The 
Manhattan terminus is Park 
Row, opposite City Hall Park. 
It was thought that this bridge would provide sufficient accommo¬ 
dation for many years, but it did so for only a short time. It soon 
became apparent that other bridges were needed. The Williams¬ 
burg bridge was then built. It extends from Clinton and Delancey 
streets, Manhattan, to South 5th and South 6th streets, Brooklyn. 
Between these two bridges there is another giant bridge, known as 
Manhattan bridge. A fourth one in this list of giant bridges crossing 



East River Subway Tunnel 





BRIDGES AND TUNNELS 


63 


the East river is known as the Queensboro bridge. It extends over 
Welfare island from 59th and 60th streets, Manhattan, to Long 
Island city, Queens. A fifth bridge, spanning the East river at 
Hell Gate, is a railroad bridge. 

The carrying capacity of these bridges and ferries is enormous. 
We know now that our ferryboats and bridges will not meet the 



increasing demand made upon them. A third way of connecting 
Manhattan with the surrounding country has been planned. The 
third way is by means of tunnels. 

The Pennsylvania railroad tunnel gives a continuous track 
connection between the Pennsylvania railroad depot on the New 
Jersey shore and the Long Island railroad in the borough of 
Queens. This tunnel passes under the Hudson river through 
Manhattan and under the East river. There is a central station 
in Manhattan. Passengers using the Pennsylvania railroad can 
enter New York city from Long Island or from New Jersey without 
using ferryboats. 







64 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Other tunnels are the Manhattan-Brooklyn tunnel under the East 
river, connecting the subway systems of Manhattan and Brooklyn; 
a subway tunnel under the Harlem river from 143d street, Man¬ 
hattan, to 149th street, The Bronx; the Belmont tunnel under the 
East river from 42d street, Manhattan, to Long Island city, Queens; 
the Hudson tubes under the Hudson river to Hoboken, Jersey City, 
and Newark. 

There are more than four hundred bridges in New York city. 
Does this surprise you? Are there any in the parks you have 
visited ? If you wish to get bird’s-eye views of parts of the city, 
walk across the giant bridges on clear days. There are so many 
high bridges spanning the East and Harlem rivers that many 
different parts of the city may be studied from these bridges in 
turn. Take your note-books with you and write in them the parts 
of the city that can be seen from each bridge. Locate north, east, 
south, and west. Look down upon the rivers and along the shores; 
observe the shipping, the islands, the docks, the piers, and the 
factories. 


CHAPTER IX 


MANUFACTURES 

The city of New York is generally thought of as a commercial 
city only, but it is also the greatest manufacturing center of the 
United States. New York leads not only in commerce but in the 
manufacture of useful 
articles, and of articles 
that add to the refine¬ 
ments and luxuries of 
life. 

The inhabitants of 
New York are not 
miners, not farmers, 
not lumbermen, not 
quarrymen, not 
fishermen. They are 
manufacturers and 
distributers. They re¬ 
ceive raw material and 
change it into useful articles. These articles are then sent back 
to the farmer, the miner, and others. 

The leading industry is the manufacture of clothing. This 
industry alone employs more than one hundred thousand persons. 
A great many inhabitants of the east side of Manhattan are 

engaged in the clothing industry. 

65 





66 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


The leading industry in Brooklyn is the refining of sugar and 
molasses. The farmers of the South send great quantities of raw 

sugar to these refineries, where 
it is manufactured into sugar. 

A great many people are 
engaged in the making of news¬ 
papers, magazines, and books. 
These must be written, printed, 
bound, and sold. 

Other great industries are 
the manufacture of machinery, 
furniture, cigars and tobacco, 
and malt liquors. We also find 
coffee and spice-grinding mills, 
bakeries, slaughtering and 
meat-packing establishments, 
gas plants, and factories pro¬ 
ducing the needful articles for 
building. 

From 4 2d street to the 
Battery, Manhattan has become one huge workshop and office build¬ 
ing. In Brooklyn many of the large factories and refineries are 
located along the East river shore north of the Brooklyn bridge. 
South of this bridge is the region of commerce. There are many 
large warehouses and grain elevators in Brooklyn borough. In The 
Bronx and in Queens are some large factories. In Queens there is a 
yearly increase in the number of factories and shops. Between Brook¬ 
lyn and Queens there is Newtown creek, a very busy water way. 



Copyrighted, 1903, by George P. Hall & Sou 

Flatiron Building 




CHAPTER X 


NEW YORK: THE NATION’S MARKET PLACE 

Goods manufactured here and elsewhere are sold in New York 
in great quantities. People come to New York from all parts of 
the United States to purchase goods. Merchants in one line of busi¬ 
ness generally locate close together for the convenience of buyers. 
For this reason we 
find similar kinds of 
business grouped in 
certain localities of 
the city. The whole¬ 
sale business is found 
largely in the lower 
end of Manhattan 
south of 14th street. 

The retail district is 
in the middle section 
south of 42d street. 

The wholesale dry-goods district is along Broadway and its 
side streets from Reade street to Prince street. West of this district 
we find the wholesale groceries. The leather district is south of the 
approaches to the Brooklyn bridge. The leather district is called 
The Swamp. The wholesale jewelry district is in and near Maiden 
Lane. In the neighborhood of 34th street and 5th avenue is the 

book-publishing center. The great newspaper offices are found east of 

67 



Herald Square 








68 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


City Hall Park and in Herald and Times squares. These business 
districts contain large buildings and great stores of treasure. During 
the day the streets of the wholesale section are the busiest in the 
city. At night they are almost deserted. The shopping district 
is in the middle section of the city, along Broadway, 5th avenue, 
6th avenue, 14th, 23d, 34th, 42d, 57th, and 125th streets. 

Smaller retail stores are scattered throughout the city. Men in 
the retail business buy from the wholesale merchant. Thus the 
grocer and butcher go to the markets early in the morning to 
buy their supplies of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. The milk¬ 
man goes to the railroad stations to receive his supply of milk directly 
from the trains that bring the milk from distant places. In the 
wholesale and retail sections there are also importers. Importers 
sell articles manufactured in other countries. 

In Brooklyn the principal stores are along Fulton street, above 
the City Hall, and on Broadway. Many of the residents of Brook¬ 
lyn are employed in Manhattan or are in business there. 

In The Bronx, 3d avenue and Fordham Hoad are the principal 
business streets. Tremont avenue, Westchester avenue, and East 
149th street are also important streets. The Grand Boulevard and 
Concourse is one of the most beautiful driveways for which the 
borough of The Bronx is famous. It connects the borough of 
Manhattan and the park system in the northern and eastern part 
of The Bronx. The Bronx is mainly, however, a borough of homes 
and parks. 

In the boroughs of Queens and Richmond there are many farms 
and market gardens and suburban homes. There are also many 
large factories in Queens. 


CHAPTER XI 


NEW YORK: THE NATION’S FINANCIAL CENTER 



New York is the financial center of the nation and of the 
world as well as the nation’s market place. Our city has seen 
many changes in the cur¬ 
rency used, from the old- 
time Indian wampum to 
our present Federal 
money. In early times 
people used wampum, 
beaver skins, grain, and 
the coins of many coun¬ 
tries. As years went by 
wampum lost its value, 
and beaver skins were no 
longer plentiful. Trade 
increased and more gold 
and silver money was 
used. Coins of many 
nations were in use and 
some paper money also. 

When we were an English 
colony there was more English money in use than any other 
kind, and it remained in use even after our country became the 
United States of America. We soon made our own money, however, 

69 


Stock Exchange 











70 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



and called it Federal money. This is the money we use to-day. 
Name the gold coins and the silver coins. 

As the money interests of New York increased, business men 
felt the need of a bank. The first bank was the Bank of New 

York, founded in 1784. It 
was opened in the Walton 
mansion on Pearl street, and 
is the oldest bank in New 
York state. A bank is a great 
convenience for a business 
man. He can put his money 
in a business bank daily. 
There it is not only safe, but 
when necessary he can order 
the bank to pay it out to some 
one he names. Instead of 
paying in cash for the goods 
he buys as we do in the stores, 
he gives an order on his bank. 
An order on a bank to pay 
out money that you have 
deposited is called a check. 
Did you ever see a check? Ask your teacher to show you one and 
to tell how it is used. Banks also lend money. Ask your teacher 
how a business man can borrow money from a bank. 

The banks we have been speaking of are not used as savings 
banks. They are only business banks. There are also savings banks 
in our city. Do you know of any in your neighborhood? We put 












NEW YORK: THE NATION’S FINANCIAL CENTER 


71 


money in a savings bank for safe-keeping and also to get interest 
on it. We find banks in our schools, where boys and girls can 
deposit their savings without going to an outside bank. There are 
a great many business banks and savings banks in this city. In 
many of the banks there are safe-deposit vaults. These vaults are 
burglar proof and fire proof. Some people put their valuables in 
these vaults for safe-keeping. 

Just as New York is known as the financial center of the United 
States, so Wall street is known as the financial district of the city. 
It is one of the best known streets in the world. In this street there 
are many banks. The Sub-Treasury of the United States, “ one of 
the nation’s big purses,” is also here. In this building there are 
large vaults for the storage of gold, silver, and paper money belong¬ 
ing to the government. Did you ever see the Sub-Treasury? 

On Wall street and in its neighborhood there are the exchanges 
also. There is the Stock Exchange, the Produce Exchange, the 
Coffee Exchange, and the Cotton Exchange. In the Stock Exchange 
public stocks and bonds are bought and sold. In the Produce 
Exchange merchants buy and sell grain, lard, etc., in large quanti¬ 
ties. What do they buy and sell in large quantities in the Coffee 
Exchange? in the Cotton Exchange? Because so much money is 
received and paid out in the financial district, New York is called 
the financial center. In this district there are also many large 
insurance companies. 


CHAPTER XII 


HOMES OF THE PEOPLE 


We have learned 
that New York is the 
nation’s market place, 
its financial center, 
and its greatest work¬ 
shop. We know that 
the great business sec¬ 
tion of the city is in 
the lower part of Man¬ 
hattan ; that the great 
shopping districts are 
in the middle section 
of Manhattan, along Broadway and Fulton streets in Brooklyn, and 
on 3d avenue in The 
Bronx. We have also 
learned that a great 
many factories of all 
kinds are found in 
these sections. Now 
let us see where the 
people live who are em¬ 
ployed in these facto¬ 
ries and business places. 




Corlear’s IIook Park 


72 







HOMES OF THE PEOPLE 


73 




Recreation Pier 


Manhattan is the borough of tenements. In Manhattan the most 
densely populated districts are on the east side of the borough. 
Here we find block after 
block of tenement houses. 

Almost all the working 
people of Manhattan live in 
tenement districts. A great 
number of people who work 
in Manhattan live in the 
other boroughs. 

In Manhattan the 
wealthy live along 5th avenue, on Riverside Drive, on Park avenue, 

and around Central Park. In 
Brooklyn we find handsome 
residences on, the Park Slope, 
Clinton avenue, St. Mark’s ave¬ 
nue, Ocean avenue, and Ocean 
Parkway. There are a great 
many small and comfortable 
houses in Brooklyn. The other 
boroughs — The Bronx, Queens, 
and Richmond — are largely in¬ 
habited by workers on Manhat¬ 
tan. These boroughs are more 
desirable for homes because 
they are not yet overcrowded. 
Many people living here own 
their homes. 


Copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood 

(trant’s Tomb 














Copyrighted, l'J03, by George P. Hall & Son 


Immigration Depot, Ellis Island 


CHAPTER XIII 

IMMIGRATION 

Most of the steamships going between other countries and the 
United States come to New York. The ships leaving New York 
carry away chiefly breadstuffs, provisions, cotton, petroleum, and 
machinery. They bring back to us chiefly tea and coffee, crude 
rubber, precious stones, furs, wine, tin plate, raw sugar, raw silk, 
leather, leather goods, cotton, silk, and woolen goods. 

All steamers entering our port are not freight steamers. Many 
carry passengers, of whom nearly all are immigrants. An immi¬ 
grant is one who comes to a country to make it his home. Most 
of the inhabitants of New York city are foreign born, or children of 
foreign-born parents. The reason for this is that so many of the 
immigrants remain in New York city. 

During the past years most of the immigrants came from Italy, 
Austria-Hungary, Russia, Germany, England, and Ireland. As a 

74 








IMMIGRATION 


75 


rule these immigrants are poor. Many of them have no trade. 
They land at Ellis island, where the government officials write 
their names in record books. If the United States law says that 
they may live in this country, they are allowed to remain here; if 
the law says they cannot live in our country, they are sent back. 
At one time as 
many foreigners 
as wished to could 
come into our 
country. Now we 
have a law which 
allows only a fixed 
number of immi¬ 
grants from each 
foreign country to 
enter the United 
States. Why was 
that law passed ? 

Many immigrants who land in New York go to some section of 
the city where their relatives, friends, and countrymen live. For 
this reason sections of New York are almost like foreign cities; 
the people speak a foreign language, have foreign customs, and 
celebrate foreign holidays. We have Italian sections, Jewish sec¬ 
tions, Hungarian sections; a Russian section, a Bohemian section, 
an Armenian section, a Chinese section, and other foreign sections. 
These sections are usually overcrowded. Do you live in or near 
any of these sections? What do we call that part of the steamer 
occupied by the poor immigrants? 



The Leviathan 









CHAPTER XIV 


STREETS AND AVENUES 

The growth of Manhattan has been from the southern end 
upward, while Brooklyn has extended itself east, north, and south. 
When the first houses were built on Manhattan, New York was 
forest covered throughout. The early settlers built their houses 

wherever they saw fit : 
there was no plan fol¬ 
lowed ; there were trails 
and cow paths, but no 
streets. Peter Stuyvesant 
made the first attempt at 
a street system. These 
streets took the general 
direction of the trails, and 
hence they are so crooked 
and planless. Stuyvesant 
laid out and named about sixteen streets. In 1660 there were about 
twenty-eight streets and three hundred and forty-two houses in 
New Amsterdam. 

On the east side of Manhattan south of Houston street and on 
the west side south of 14th street the streets are irregular, crooked, 
and frequently twisted. North of these streets and in most of the 
newer parts of Manhattan a regular city plan was followed. The 
avenues run parallel with the Hudson river, and the streets run 






STREETS AND AVENUES 


77 


east and west. The avenues are known by numbers with the excep¬ 
tion of avenues A, B, C, D, Lexington, and Madison. The cross 
streets are also numbered, and as a rule extend from river to river. 

It is quite unfortunate that the distances between the avenues 
are so great. If we had more 
avenues, we would have more 
lines of travel running north and 
south. Most of the travel and 
traffic is north and south. There 
are few avenues to accommodate 
this travel and traffic; therefore 
travel on the avenues is congested. 

Mention some attempts to relieve 
this congestion. On Fifth ave¬ 
nue there are bronze traffic tow¬ 
ers about 18 feet high. There 
is one policeman in the tower and 
one or more on the street. How 
do they tell the drivers, motor- 
men, and pedestrians when to go 
north and south and when to go 
east and west? Why should we obey the signals? What is Park 
avenue a continuation of ? Mention the names given to 9th, 10th, 
and 11th avenues west of Central Park. What is the name of the 
continuation of 6th avenue north of Central Park ? 

Many important avenues and streets have been extended into 
other boroughs by means of bridges. Thus, 3d avenue, Manhattan, 
is connected with 3d avenue, The Bronx, by the 3d avenue bridge. 









The Bowery 


CHAPTER XV 

BROADWAY AND THE BOWERY 

The regular plan of north and south and east and west streets 
and avenues is disturbed by two great thoroughfares, — Broadway 
and the Bowery. Broadway, the great business street of Manhattan, 
extends from the Battery to the end of the island. At first its 
course is in a direct line from the Battery to 10th street. At 10th 
street and at 14th street it takes a diagonal course, and then cuts 
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Columbus, and Amsterdam avenues. It joins 
West End avenue at 106th street, and from that point it takes a 
northerly direction to its terminus. 

Broadway is one of the best known streets in the world. 
Around Bowling Green, where Broadway begins, we find some of 

the great exchanges, steamship offices, and other office buildings. 

78 






BROADWAY AND THE BOWERY 


79 


As we walk on we pass the financial center of the city, great insur¬ 
ance buildings, Trinity church, Western Union Telegraph office, 
St. Paul’s chapel, and arrive at the Post Office and the City Hall. 
In this neighborhood we find the great newspaper buildings and 
many lawyers’ offices. 

Passing the City Hall and continuing on our way northward, 
we find ourselves in the wholesale district. Here we also find many 
railroad offices. When we get to 10th street the retail shopping 
district begins. From 10th 
street to 23d street we 
pass Grace church and some 
fine large department, jew¬ 
elry, and picture stores. 

From 23d street north¬ 
ward to and beyond 42d 
street we find many 
theaters, large hotels, 
restaurants, and some 
large department stores. 

Farther on along 
Broadway and north of 
Long Acre square there 
are many large apartment 
houses, some handsome churches, the 104th Field Artillery Armory, 
and the buildings of Columbia University at 116th street. North of 
the university the most striking landmark is Trinity cemetery. 
Broadway extends to the end of Manhattan, and then runs 
through Kingsbridge, skirting the western side of Van Cortlandt 





80 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Park, and enters Yonkers at the city boundary line. The Bowery 
practically begins at the Brooklyn bridge under the name of Park 
Row. It takes a slightly diagonal course and ends at Cooper 
square; there it joins 3d avenue. Both Broadway and the Bowery 
were post roads in colonial times. The Bowery and 3d avenue 

were the Boston post 
road, and Broadway 
was the Albany post 
road. 

Strangers coming 
to our city find their 
way easily in Manhafr 
tan, but not so readily 
in Brooklyn. Why ? 
Fulton street is the 
principal street of 
Brooklyn. On or near 
it are large department stores, theaters, restaurants, and hotels. In 
the part of Brooklyn immediately west of Prospect Park and extend¬ 
ing southwestward the streets and avenues are numbered. South of 
Prospect Park the avenues are known by letters. Broadway, begin¬ 
ning at the Broadway ferry, is also an important street. 

In The Bronx we find 3d avenue and Broadway as a contin¬ 
uation of those streets of Manhattan. 3d avenue is the princi¬ 
pal business avenue. The chief streets in Queens are Jackson and 
Flushing avenues. Several important avenues of Brooklyn are 
continued in Queens. Queens Boulevard is the chief outlet for all 
traffic from Manhattan to Jamaica. 






BROADWAY AND THE BOWERY 


81 


Ferries. Some of the streets in Manhattan leading to important 
ferries are West 42d, West 23d, Christopher, Desbrosses, Chambers, 
Cortlandt, Liberty, 

Whitehall, Wall, Ful¬ 
ton, East 23d, East 
34th, East 42d, and 
East 92d. Some of 
the streets in Brook¬ 
lyn leading to impor¬ 
tant ferries are 39th, 

Hamilton avenue, 

Modern Double-Deck Ferryboat 

Fulton street, Broad¬ 
way, and Greenpoint avenue. The East 34th street ferry leads to 
Long Island city and the Long Island railroad depot, Queens; the 

East 9 2d street ferry, to As¬ 
toria, Queens. The ferries 
from the west side of Man¬ 
hattan lead to New Jersey, 
principally to railroad depots. 
The ferry from Whitehall 
street at the Battery leads to 
St. George, Richmond. 

Municipal Ferries. These 
ferries are owned by the city. The ferry from Manhattan to Staten 
Island is a municipal ferry; there are several others. They are 
directed by a city department, known as the Department of Plants 
and Structures. 











Children’s Sailing Lake, Central Park 


CHAPTER XVI 

PARKS 

When New Amsterdam became a city in 1653 it contained about 
one thousand inhabitants. The residents of the little city had 
the country right at their doors. They had their gardens and their 
farms. Lakes, streams, hills, flowers, and birds were close at hand. 
There was an abundance of fresh and invigorating air for all. 

As the population increased and continued to increase, the city 
farms and gardens began to decrease. Farms and gardens were cut 
up into building lots, and houses were erected upon them. The old- 
time houses were small. These small houses were soon replaced 
by larger ones, and at last a wilderness of tenements took the place 
of forest^ farm, and garden. 


82 










PARKS 


83 


Open spaces for recreation and amusement in the southern part 
of Manhattan had disappeared. People living there had to take 
long walks or a ride to enjoy the sight of trees and flowers and to 
get the fresh air and clear sunlight of the country. This was a 
great hardship to the very young and the feeble old, who could not 
walk long distances and who could not afford to pay car fare. 

It was then that areas of land, large and small, were set aside 
for the use of the people. These areas of land are called parks. 



Central Park Terrace and Bethesda Fountain 


In these parks the people can enjoy fresh air, and in some there are 
shady walks and places for picnics. Parks have become the out-of- 
door homes of the people. 

Central Park is one of the largest as well as one of the most 
beautiful parks in the world. It extends from 59th street to 110th 
street and has a width of half a mile. Look at the plan of Central 
Park. Between what avenues is it ? How can you get there from 
your home ? 

One twentieth of the whole population of the United States lives 
within one hour’s ride of Central Park. It provides not only fresh 
air but other attractions for the thousands who visit it daily. 




84 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


Everybody, poor or rich, young or old, finds pleasure and health 
within its boundaries. In it there are hills and valleys, shrubs 
and trees of endless variety, lawns and flower beds, walks and 
promenades, statues and fountains, drives and bridle paths, lakes 
and bridges, archways and tunnels, tennis courts and baseball 
grounds, reservoirs and observatories, a me¬ 
nagerie, and conservatories. Can you locate 
and describe some of the above points of 
interest? Do you know anything about the 
trees and flowers that grow there? 

Central Park is not only a place for health, 
play, and rest, but it is also a place for study. 
At 5th avenue and 83d street is the famous 
Metropolitan Museum of Art. On Manhattan 
square, west of the park, between 77th and 
81st streets, is the American Museum of Natu¬ 
ral History. On the east side of Central Park, 
at 64th street, there is a menagerie in which 
animals of many species may be seen. 

There are many statues and monuments 
in Central Park. On a knoll near the 
Museum of Art stands an Egyptian obelisk, 
a noted monument, which is about thirty-five hundred years old. 
At 59th street and 8th avenue there is a statue of Columbus. 

With the help of the above plan locate the following places on the airplane 
view of Central Park on page 85 : Fifth Avenue, Central Park West, the Mall, 
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, 
the Hudson River, the Reservoirs, Manhattan Square, the Lake. 



Plan of a Part of 
Central Park 



















PARKS 


85 




Mall, Central Park 


Riverside Park is 

a long, narrow park 
lying between 72d 
street and 130th street. 

Its location on a ridge 
along the Hudson, its 
beautiful views, its 
drives, and its walks 
make it a very attrac¬ 
tive spot. The tomb of 
General Grant at the 
northern end of the park is very imposing and attracts thousands 
of visitors. There is also a soldiers’ monument at 89th street. 

The excellent driveway of this park is continued on a viaduct 

over Manhattanville 
valley to the heights 
on the north. There 
it joins the Lafayette 
boulevard. Dyckman 
street connects Lafa¬ 
yette boulevard with 
the Speedway, which 
is a public road for 
fast driving. The 
Speedway extends 
southward along the 

Copyrighted by Fairchild Aerial Camera Corp. Western bank of the 

An Airplane View of a Part of Central Park Harlem river from 









86 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


208th street to 155th street. From 155th street a driveway continues 
along St. Nicholas place and St. Nicholas avenue to Central Park. 

Prospect Park is in the center of Brooklyn. Look at the plan of 
Prospect Park. Bound it. The park is situated on Mount Prospect, 
an elevated ridge. The site of the park has great natural advantages. 
It contains fine wooded hills and a rolling country. It is not as 
large as Central Park, but it has more natural beauty. Its wood¬ 
land, its botanical gardens, its lawns, its meadow-land, its lake, its 



Riverside Drive Extension Viaduct 


tennis courts, its croquet grounds, and its great parade ground, 
used for baseball, cricket, and polo, are some of its attractions. 
The soldiers’ and sailors’ memorial arch in the Plaza is a hand¬ 
some monument. There is a magnificent view of the city and harbor 
from the park. 

Ocean Parkway is a boulevard west of Coney Island avenue, run¬ 
ning from the southern end of Prospect Park to Coney Island. It 
is one of the finest drives in New York city. 

Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx. The borough of The Bronx, called 
“ the borough of parks,” contains the two largest parks in the city 







PARKS 


87 


and many small ones. Pelham 
Bay Park is on Long Island sound 
and contains many islands. It is 
the largest in the city and one of 
the most beautiful in the world. 

Its athletic field, its miles of water 
front, its islands, and its large 
tracts of woodland make it an 
attractive spot. 

Van Cortlandt Park, The 
Bronx. This is next to the largest 
park in the city. It lies in the 
northwestern part of the borough. 

It has popular golf links, ball Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch, Prospect 

rt i i i Park Plaza, Brooklyn 

fields, tennis courts, and cricket 

fields. Van Cortlandt lake affords amusement to many thousands 
of skaters in the winter. The Van Cortlandt mansion was one of 

Washington’s head¬ 
quarters during the 
Revolution. It is 
now an historical 
museum. The gen¬ 
eral appearance of 
this park has not 
been changed; it is 
a natural park. 

Bronx Park is in 
the center of the 




Plan of Prospect Park 












88 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


borough. It is third in interest in the city of New York and is 
traversed throughout its entire length by the picturesque Bronx river. 
Within its boundaries may be found a botanical garden and a zoolog¬ 
ical park that are justly the pride of New lork city. There is much 
natural scenery in the park, including several falls and cascades. 
The beautiful Bronx River Parkway extends from the Botanical 

Garden to Kensico Dam. 

Forest Park. The 
borough of Queens has 
but little of its area set 
aside for park purposes. 
Here there is less need 
for parks. Forest Park 
is a natural woodland of 
considerable extent. It has been set aside to provide a playground 
and breathing spot for the people of the eastern district. Good 
views of the Atlantic ocean, Jamaica bay, and Long Island sound 
may be obtained from its high points. 

In the borough of Richmond there are few parks. The popu¬ 
lation is still scattered, and as the country is still close at hand to 
everybody, there is no need for large park areas. 

Besides the large parks in the city there are many small parks, 
squares, gores, playgrounds, parkways, and recreation piers. Public 
comfort and health are also provided for by public baths along our 
river front and in other parts of the city. Ocean beaches are being 
acquired by the city authorities for seaside parks. 

Some of the small parks are of historic interest, and are so well 
known that we ought to learn something about them. 



Ocean Parkway 








PAEKS 


89 


Battery Park. Where is it? Find it on your map. Did you 
ever see this park ? What can be seen from it ? Although this is 
a small park, it is famous. Why? Its location at the southern end 
of the island where the Hudson and East rivers meet brings it into 
daily view of a great many people. Why ? It is a beautiful spot, 
even though all the elevated railroads of Manhattan do have their 



Kockaway Beach 


terminals here. In this park there are shade trees and numerous 
benches and it is a cool and pleasant spot in summer. The view 
from the sea wall is interesting. 

Battery Park is nearly all made land. The building now used 
as an aquarium is one of the oldest and best known buildings in 
our city. It was once a fort, and the spot on which it stands was 
once an island. The fort was changed into a place of amusement 
and was called Castle Garden. Later on it became a landing place 
for immigrants. 




90 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 




Copyrighted, 1902, by Irving Underhill 

Cathedral Heights and Morningside Park 


Bowling Green is a small park at the beginning of Broadway. 
It has been called the cradle of New York and, although so small, 
it is of great interest to us. 

Morningside Park is an irregular piece of land extending from 
110 th street to 123d street. It is situated on the eastern border 

and slope of a plateau. 
In this park there are 
trees, a great variety 
of shrubs, and benches. 
The section immedi¬ 
ately west of Morning¬ 
side Park is known as 
Cathedral Heights. 
Walks and stairways 
lead from the park to these heights. St. Luke’s Hospital and the 
new cathedral are on Cathedral Heights. A short walk will take you 
to Columbia University, whose buildings stand on historic ground. 

Fort Greene 
Park is a beautiful 
small park in the 
borough of Brook¬ 
lyn. As it is higher 
than the surround¬ 
ing streets, good 
views may be ob¬ 
tained from it. It is interesting to us because during the Revolu¬ 
tion a fort stood there. Many soldiers who died in the British prison 
ships are buried in a tomb in this park. 


Fort Greene Park 






PARKS 


91 


There are many other small parks in different parts of the city 
which are not so well known as those mentioned. They are the rec¬ 
reation grounds of the people living near them. In the daytime the 
younger children play in the sand heaps and have fun in the swings, 
and the older ones run, jump, and play basket ball. In many of 
these parks there are also ladders, rings, horizontal and parallel 
bars, springboards, and vaulting blocks. In the evening the older 
people enjoy the parks in their own way. In very crowded sections 
of the city piers are used as playgrounds for the children in the day¬ 
time and as places of recreation for adults in the evening. At the 
entrances to some of the bridges there are parks. 

Name all the small parks and recreation places in the section of 
the city in which you live. Describe the exact location of each one, 
tell its uses, and name the buildings in it. Draw a plan of it. Be 
sure to give its right name. Find out whether there is any place of 
historic interest in the park. You have been in the summer 
time, with father and mother, at one of the many beaches in 
Brooklyn or Queens or Richmond. Tell about those you have seen. 
What did you do at the beach ? What did you see ? Look at the 
picture on page 89. 



American Museum of Natural History 


CHAPTER XVII 

MUSEUMS AND PARKS THAT THE CHILDREN OF OUR 
CITY SHOULD VISIT 

The American Museum of Natural History. This great institution 

occupies a part of the square inclosed by 77th and 81st streets, 
Central Park west, and Columbus avenue. The present building is 
a part of a group that will some day cover the entire square. 
Every one can find something to interest him here. 

The building itself is imposing, the exhibition halls are roomy 
and light, and the collections are extensive and complete. Here 
may be seen collections that will help the children in many of their 
studies. There are collections of mammals, birds, insects, shells, 
fossils, woods, minerals, and gems. 

In cases we find Indian relics, which help us to understand a 
little about Indian life. There are thousands of objects gathered 
here that show us something of the customs and domestic life of 
many of the different races found in North and South America, 

92 







MUSEUMS AND PAEKS CHILDEEN SHOULD VISIT 93 


and in other countries. There is a large lecture hall in which lec¬ 
tures are given to teachers and pupils of the public schools and also 
to the general public. Cases containing specimens for study are 
sent directly to the schools. They are helpful in the study of birds, 
insects, corals, sponges, woods, and minerals. Children are always 
welcome in the museum, and the director and curators take pleasure 
in assisting teachers and children in their school work. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This museum is in Central 
Park opposite the East 83d street entrance. It is the largest and 
richest art museum in America. Here may be seen the works 
of great sculptors and painters. Here may be found antiquities, 



Metropolitan Museum of Art 


wrought-iron work and bronzes, arms and armor, vases, porcelains, 
old laces, musical instruments of all nations, and many other inter¬ 
esting things. 

The original paintings of many of the pictures that you have 
in your home and school can be seen and studied here. Do you 










94 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


know the name of any great picture in this museum? Do you 
know the name of the artist who painted the picture ? Name some 
of the famous pictures you have seen. Name some of the famous 
artists you have heard of. Do you know of any famous statue in 
the museum or in any part of the city ? Do you know the name 
of the sculptor who made the statue ? 

The Aquarium is in Battery Park. Both salt- and fresh-water 
fish may be seen in the tanks of the Aquarium. Fish from all 
parts of our country and from Bermuda are here placed on exhibi¬ 
tion. The handsome 
trout, the beautiful 
angel fish, and the 
curious moonfish are 
apparently quite at 
home in the large 
glass tanks. 

Here may also be 

seen seals, sea lions, and sturgeon. In a room, known as the labora¬ 
tory, there are many aquariums such as can be kept in school or at 
home. Children are always welcome at the Aquarium, and teachers 
are assisted in their work whenever they desire it. It is a pleasure 
for the gentlemen in authority to fill the school aquariums and to 
help the teachers and their classes in any way they can. 

The New York Botanical Garden is in the northern part of Bronx 
Park. In what borough is Bronx Park ? The Botanical Garden is 
a place for recreation. It is also a place of study for the lovers 
and students of plant life. We find here the plants of our own 
climate and also many that grow in the warmer regions of our own 



Aquarium 








MUSEUMS AND PARKS CHILDREN SHOULD VISIT 95 




Botanical Garden and Museum 


and other countries. The 
garden affords us an oppor¬ 
tunity to study this great 
variety of plants. Hardy 
plants of our own climate 
are found here growing 
outdoors. The plants of 
warmer climates are kept 
in large glass houses, 
where the temperature is 
much warmer than it is outside. Along the miles of walks in 
the garden we can see flower borders, flowering shrubs, and many 
kinds of trees. 

There is a botanical museum here also. It contains a large 
collection of dried plants, roots, seeds, and fruits. Each specimen 
has a label. On the label you may read something about the plant 

and its uses. The plants 
in the garden are also 
labeled so that visitors 
may see what they are 
called and where they 
grow. They can after¬ 
ward visit the museum 
to learn more about the 
plant and its uses. There 
is a large lecture hall in 
the museum building. In 

Bears’Den in the New York Zoological Park this lecture hall teachers 






















96 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


and students attend lectures on botany. The director is always ready 
to help children and their teachers who visit the garden for study. 

The object of the Botanical Garden is to educate the people in 
everything pertaining to plants and their uses. 

The New York Zoological Park is in the southern section of 
Bronx Park. A visit to this section will help children who are 

studying about animals, 
because here they can see 
the living animal. On the 
ranges they can see buf¬ 
faloes and antelopes. 
They can watch the lion 
in his house and the bear 
in his den. They can see 
reptiles in the great rep¬ 
tile house. They can 
enjoy the pranks of the 
monkeys' as they stand 
near the monkey house watching the funny little faces and listen¬ 
ing to the chatter. Children studying about birds should visit the 
birds’ mammoth flying-cage. I am quite sure that if you visit the 
Zoological Park once you will wish to go again. 

The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences has a fine museum 
building near the northern end of Prospect Park. In this museum 
there are stuffed animals of all kinds, minerals, other valuable col¬ 
lections, and an art gallery. Courses of interesting and instructive 
lectures are given in the institute every winter. This institute is 
helpful to students and to young pupils. The Brooklyn Institute 





MUSEUMS AND PARKS CHILDREN SHOULD VISIT 97 



supports a children’s museum filled with objects interesting and 
instructive to the young. I wonder how many Brooklyn children 
make use of their privilege . 1 

The American Museum of Safety is helpful to children because it 
teaches them by lectures and exhibits how to guard against danger 
and how to prevent rasp 
accidents. 

When visiting parks 
and museums remem¬ 
ber that you cannot 
see everything in them 
in one day or during 
one visit. Our parks 
and museums contain 
so many objects of 
interest that it is im¬ 
possible to see and 
remember them all. Ask your parents or your teacher to tell you 
what to look for and what to look at. Select beforehand what you 
wish to see or study about. Go to observe a few objects rather 
than many, and think about the few you have observed when you 
return home. 


Copyrighted, 1904, by Moses King 

Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences 
View of building when completed 


1 These New York museums are supported partly by the city and partly by private 
contributions. 






The College of the City of New York 


CHAPTER XVIII 

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LIBRARIES 

Public Schools. New York is the only city in the world that 
offers to all of its children a free school education beginning with 
the kindergarten and ending with graduation from a college. Our 
school system is the largest in the world. We have more than five 
hundred and fifty schools and more than nine hundred and twenty 
thousand children attending them. The system includes kinder¬ 
garten classes, elementary schools, continuation schools, vocational 
schools, junior high schools, high schools, two colleges, and three 
training schools for teachers. It also includes evening schools, 
vacation schools, vacation playgrounds, evening recreation centers, 
and truant schools. Evening public lectures given in many sections 
of our city are also under the New York system of education. 

Evening schools are intended for those who are employed during 
the day and wish to continue their studies. Vacation schools are for 
children who cannot go to the country in summer and are anxious 

98 





SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LIBRARIES 


99 


to occupy the mornings in a useful manner. Vacation playgrounds 
are in school buildings. The city has also vacation playgrounds in 
parks. They are cool and shady places where children can play 
during the hot afternoons in summer. The evening recreation 
centers are places of assembly, instruction, play, and recreation for 
working boys and girls. 

Truant schools are 
provided for those chil¬ 
dren who refuse to 
attend school regularly. 

Private Schools and 
Colleges. In addition to 
the public school system 
New York is well sup¬ 
plied with excellent pri¬ 
vate schools, academies, 
institutes, colleges, and 
universities. There are 
also many large parochial 
schools, corporate schools, and schools supported by various societies. 

Columbia University, the largest in the state, is situated on 
Morningside Heights. It has many departments, of which Columbia 
College, Barnard College, Teachers College, College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, and the School of Law are the most important. 

New York University, situated on University Heights, The 
Bronx, is next in size and importance to Columbia. New York 
University has a college, a law school, a medical college, and other 
important departments. 



Hunter College 









/ 



kM 

- 






: a- 


* •■ ,:• * 

• \ k 




100 


Columbia University 



















SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LIBRARIES 


101 


Fordham University, with its college and its law. department, 
is a Catholic institution. Manhattan College is one of the old 
and well-known colleges. The College of the City of New York and 
Hunter College both belong to the public-school system of the city. 



New York University 

In Brooklyn, the following schools are well known: Adelphi 
College, the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, Packer Institute, Pratt 
Institute, St. Francis College, and St. John’s College. 

Churches and Sunday Schools. There are two cathedrals in 
New York. Both are in the borough of Manhattan. St. Patrick’s 
Cathedral is on 5th avenue, and the Cathedral of St. John the 
Divine is on Cathedral Heights. St. John’s Cathedral is unfinished 
at present. In addition to these cathedrals there are many churches, 





102 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Corner 
of 5th avenue and 50tii street 


chapels, and synagogues in New York 
city. One of the best known syna¬ 
gogues is Temple Emanu-El on 5th 
avenue. Children receive religious 
instruction in the Sunday schools 
belonging to the churches. Some 
of the Sunday schools are very well 
known, even outside of New York. 

Libraries. Libraries are a great 
aid to education. In New York we 
have many free libraries for the use 
of all. The largest library in the 
city is the New York Public Library. 
The main building of this library 
is on 5th avenue between 40th 
and 42d streets. The New York 
Public Library has a great number 


of branch libraries 
which serve the peo¬ 
ple in different sec¬ 
tions of the city. Is 
there any branch of 
the New York Public 
Library near your 
school ? Do you ever 
use a public library? 
What is a catalogue ? 



Copyrighted by Ewing Galloway, New York 


How is it used ? 


New York Public Library 












CHAPTER XIX 


THE CITY GOVERNMENT 



All the people 
in a city cannot 
assemble to make 
the laws. They 
therefore choose a 
certain number of 
men to make their 
laws, and others 
to carry them out. 

These men are 
voted for on elec¬ 
tion day, and are 
called city officials. 

They should be 
honest and able 
men. A good cit¬ 
izen votes only for 
such men for our 
city officials. 

The Mayor. The chief city official is the mayor. He is elected 
by the citizens of the whole city. He carries out the city laws, 
which are called ordinances, and also the state laws. He is a very 

103 


Copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood 

The Civic Center 







104 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


busy man. The mayor cannot do everything necessary to carry out 
the laws. He cannot look after the policemen, the firemen, the 
paving of streets, etc. For this reason we have city departments. 
The mayor has the right to appoint the heads of the city depart¬ 
ments. They are called commissioners. Each commissioner is 

responsible to the mayor. 
The mayor can remove the 
men he appoints if their 
work is not done properly. 
The mayor’s office is in 
the City Hall. 

Borough President. 
Each borough has a presi¬ 
dent. He is not chosen by 
the citizens of the whole 
city as the mayor is, but 
is elected by the people of 
his borough. There are 
five borough presidents. 
The borough president 
looks after the paving and repair of streets and sewers; he keeps 
certain public buildings in good condition; he gives permits to 
build, to alter, and to remove buildings. He has the right to appoint 
other men to help him do all this work properly. The office of the 
borough president is in the Borough Hall of his own borough. 

Board of Aldermen. The city is divided into many districts. 
Each district elects its own alderman. The president of the board 
of aldermen is elected by the citizens of the whole city. The board 





Borough Hall of Brooklyn 







THE CITY GOVERNMENT 


105 


of aldermen makes the city laws or ordinances, and the mayor, the 
borough presidents, and the heads of departments carry them out. 
The aldermen meet in the City Hall. 

Departments. There are many departments in the city govern¬ 
ment. The heads of the departments, called commissioners, are 
appointed by the mayor. The commissioners govern the depart¬ 
ments for the mayor, and they are responsible to him. 

Finance Department. The head of this city department is called 
the comptroller. He is not appointed by the mayor. He is elected 
by the people of the city. The comptroller is the head of the finance 
department. He is the official who takes in and pays out the city’s 
money. If the city ever needs more money than it has on hand, the 
comptroller borrows money for the city. 

Police Department. Every city has duties to perform, just as 
parents and children have. We wish to live in quiet and peace, to 
enjoy our night’s rest without fear of robbery, to know that we can 
pass through the streets in safety at any time of the day or night. 
It is the duty of the city to give us a feeling of security, to keep 
order, to protect the people in it from violence, to detect crime, to 
keep the streets clear of obstructions, and to see that all laws are 
obeyed. For these purposes we have a police department. The head 
of this department is called the police commissioner. Policemen 
have many duties to perform. They must watch day and night, 
in clear and in stormy weather; they must send in fire alarms and 
call ambulances; they must direct strangers who ask their way; 
they direct traffic; and they must assist all the other departments 
in enforcing the laws. The police department is one of the most 
important of the city departments. 


106 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


What is a precinct ? What is a station house ? What do we call 
the commanding officer in a precinct ? What is the reserve ? What is 
a platoon ? What is the traffic squad ? What is an island of safety ? 

Fire Department. One of the great dangers in a large city 
where buildings stand close together is fire. Fire can destroy much 
property in a very short time. Many people lose their lives in fires. 
We must, therefore, do all we can to protect life and property 
against fire. The city has a department for this purpose. The head 

of the department is called 
a commissioner. 

The duty of the fire 
department is to prevent 
and to put out fires. This 
department prevents fires 
by watching the storage, 
sale, and use of materials 
that burn very easily. 
Firemen protect property 
by putting out fires, and by using no more water for that purpose 
than is necessary. Frequently the water used destroys more than 
the fire itself. The department must also find out the cause of each 
fire. The fireman’s first duty is to save the lives of the people in 
the burning building. We may well be proud of our firemen, for 
they are brave men. 

Everybody fears fire. Careless and disobedient children often 
set their homes afire. How would you escape from your rooms in 
case of fire there ? Why do you have fire drills in school ? How 
do the firemen know where a fire is ? How should you behave in 



Fire Boat 





THE CITY GOVEENMENT 


107 



case of fire? What is the number of the engine nearest your 
school ? What is the engine for ? What does the hook and ladder 
company do ? What can you say about the horses ? 

Department of Health. Nothing is more important than good 
health. It is therefore necessary for all to try to have good health. 
Each one of us must do his share to keep well and must help to 
keep others well. The 


city can assist us in 
many ways in these 
efforts. Sometimes 
people have conta¬ 
gious diseases. It is 
the duty of the city 
to prevent the spread¬ 
ing of these diseases. 

How is this duty per¬ 
formed ? Whatever 
helps the people to 
keep well and strong 
is said to add to their 
physical welfare. The work of our department of health is to look 
after the physical welfare of the people. It is the duty of this 
department to see that the water, the milk, and the drugs we use 
are pure; that the meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables we eat are fresh; 
and that no refuse or decaying substance remains in the street. It 
is not considered good for the health of young children to work; 
therefore the department of health does not give " employment 
certificates ” to children under fourteen years of age. 


Copyrighted, by Underwood & Underwood 

Post Office 












108 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


The health department also keeps records of marriages, births, 
and deaths. 

Have you a visiting physician in your school ? Who sends him 
there? What does he do? Why? Were you ever vaccinated? By 
whom? Which two departments work together in the schools to 
prevent the spread of contagious diseases ? 

Street-Cleaning Department. Our streets must be kept clean. 
We cannot keep them clean unless they are swept and the dirt, 
ashes, and garbage are removed. To do all this we need a street¬ 
cleaning department. The head of this department is called a 
commissioner. The street-cleaning department must do more than 
sweep the streets. It must also remove snow and ice from the 
principal streets in winter. 

It is the duty of every one in our city to help this department 
in its work. It is wrong to throw paper, orange peel, banana skins, 
ashes, or garbage into the street. We should put all refuse into 
boxes, pails, or barrels. If we have untidy neighbors, we should 
get them to follow our good example. They will soon take pride 
in living in a clean street. 

Every neat and thoughtful boy and girl can help the city to 
keep its streets clean. Do you not think it worth while ? How nice 
it is to see a clean street! Would you not rather live in a clean 
street ? Some districts in New York are not as clean as others. 
Why ? How about the district in which you live ? Do you ever 
throw anything on the sidewalk or into the street ? If you are in 
the habit of doing so, stop it. What kind of a uniform does a 
street sweeper wear? What articles does he use in cleaning the 
streets ? 


THE CITY GOVERNMENT 


109 


Department of Education. An important duty of a city is to 
educate its children and to make good citizens of them. The board 
of education is appointed by the mayor. These 'gentlemen give 
their services to the city. They are not paid. The board of 
education builds schoolhouses, appoints teachers and principals, 
and looks after the welfare of the people as far as education is 
concerned. 

Other Departments. There are a number of other city depart¬ 
ments, each of which has special work to do. Their names will 
tell you what work they do. There is the department of parks, the 
department of bridges, 
the department of h 

water supply, gas, and 
electricity, the depart¬ 
ment of docks and 
ferries, the law depart¬ 
ment, and others. 

You have learned 
that the city has many 
officials who make and 
carry out its ordi¬ 
nances. All these officials are paid by the city. There are, how¬ 
ever, laws of the state and laws of the United States that must be 
carried out in the city. The officials who carry out the state laws 
are state officials. The officials who carry out the laws of the United 
States are federal officials. 

United States Officials. United States judges are officers of the 
United States, or federal officials. Those who break the laws of 



Customhouse 



110 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


the United States are tried in the federal courts before United 
States judges. Letter carriers, customhouse officers, the soldiers in 
our forts, and the sailors in the navy yard are employed by the 
United States. 

County Officials. County officials are state officials. Persons 
breaking the laws of the state are tried in the county court¬ 
houses. The district attorney, the surrogate, and the sheriff are 
county officers. 

Who is the mayor of New York ? Who is the president of your 
borough? Who is the alderman of the district in which you live? 
Ask your father. Who elects the mayor ? the borough presidents ? 
the aldermen ? 

There are five counties of the state in New York city. The 
borough of Manhattan is New York county, the borough of Brook¬ 
lyn is Kings county, the borough of The Bronx is Bronx county, 
the borough of Queens is Queens county, and the borough of 
Bichmond is Richmond county. 



Fort Wadsworth 









A Manhattan Village 


Part II — Stories of Local History 

* 

CHAPTER XX 

NEW YORK CITY AS THE HOME OF THE INDIAN 

In the year 1609 the present city of New York was a wild and 
beautiful country. The people who lived here were Indians. They 
had red or copper-colored skin, black eyes, and black hair like the 
Indians seen in the West to-day. They lived in villages generally 
situated near the water, and supported themselves principally by 
hunting and fishing. 

When you visit the Museum of Natural History to view the 
various articles found on the sites of old Indian villages and in 

their burying grounds, you will see in the cases cards on which are 

111 









112 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



A Brave 


the words, “Algonkin Indians of New York city and vicinity.” 
These cards show that all the Indians living here belonged to a race 

called the Algonkin race. 

The Algonkin race was divided into 
many tribes, and these tribes were 
divided again into many bands. The 
tribes and bands were known by differ¬ 
ent names, and sometimes they took 
their names from the places where they 
lived. Some writers say that the Indian 
name for Hell Gate meant “ the whirl¬ 
pool,” and for Manhattan island, “place 
of the whirlpool.” The tribe that lived 
on the island was called the Manhat¬ 
tan, or the people of the “ place of the whirlpool.” Other writers 
say Manhattan means “ i^Jand ” and that Manhattans 
means “ people living on an island.” There were also 
Manhattan Indians in The Bronx and on Staten Island. 

In each of the five boroughs, and all along the 
shores of the Hudson river, there were a great many 
Indian villages. The head man of each village was 
called a sachem or sagamore. Both words are Indian 
for the English word chief. The chief hunted for his 
living just as the other men of his tribe or band did. 

An Indian soldier was called a brave. When a 
brave killed his first enemy and brought home the 
scalp, he was permitted the honor of wearing the feather of the 
war eagle. The feather of the war eagle was the highest Indian 



Stone Knife 


NEW YOKK CITY AS THE HOME OF THE INDIAN 113 


decoration. As the braves, or warriors, were so 
highly honored among their people, every boy longed 
for the time when he could bring home his enemy’s 
scalp and be decorated with the eagle feather. 

The women built the houses, tilled the land, 
and made the clothes worn by the 
family. “ The men did nothing 
except hunting, fishing, and going 
to war against their enemies.” 

The most important weapon 
of the Indian warrior was the bow 
and arrow. The arrowhead was a 
sharpened stone or piece of horn. 

The Indian also carried a toma¬ 
hawk, a war club, and a knife, 
the blade of which was made of 
stone or bone. When Indians were going on the 
warpath they painted their faces and bodies and 
had a war dance. The different Indian tribes were 

A constantly at war. The Indians were Another View 0* 
revengeful and very cruel. They tor- THE Same Ax 
tured their prisoners to death and disfigured the dead. 
They killed women and children as well as men, although 
they loved their own children and were 
kind parents and faithful friends. 

The Indians living on the opposite 
sides of the East and Hudson rivers and New York 
bay were not on friendly terms. They devoted Arrowhead 



Old Stone Ax or 
Tomahawk 



Arrow¬ 

head 




114 HOME GEOGKAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 

a great deal of their time to fighting each other, but they united 
to fight the Indians living farther north. 

No Indian ever cut down or destroyed a tree unless it was neces¬ 
sary. He protected the forest because the forest was the home 
of the wild animals he hunted for food, clothing, and bedding. 
Therefore when the white men came here they found it a forest 
land, although inhabited. Some white men made great fortunes 
in lumber as well as in fur. 



War Club and Bone Crusher 


CHAPTER XXI 


INDIAN MONEY 

For many centuries before the white men came to America the 
Indians of New York and vicinity had a currency of their own, 
which they called seawan and wampum. Seawan means “ black 
money,” and was the red 
mans gold; it was worth 
twice as much as wampum. 

Wampum means “white 
money,” and was the red 
man’s silver. Both kinds of 
Indian money were called 
wampum by the white men. 

Wampum was made of 
shell beads. These beads were 
made by breaking off little 
pieces from shells, polishing 
them, and then boring holes 
through them with a stone 
awl having a reed handle. 

The beads were then strung 
on strong thread made of the 
sinews of animals. The black beads were made of the dark purple 
part of the inside of the clam shell; the white beads were made 
from the stem of the periwinkle, — a kind of snail. The Indians 

115 



New York Indian of the Twentieth 
Century 






116 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



Stone Awl 


strung these beads on threads for convenience, just as we make 
rolls of one-, five-, and ten-cent pieces. They used strings and belts 
of wampum just as we use coins and bank notes. 

When the Dutch began to trade with the Indians 
they were obliged to use the Indian money. They sold 
the Indians metal awls with which they could work 
faster. The Indians made more wampum than ever 
before, and with it they bought what they needed from 
the Dutch. This gave the Dutch 
quantities of Indian money. A 
Dutch minister once showed a 
chief a silver coin worth one dol¬ 
lar, and told him how much he could buy with 
it in the white man’s country. The Indian 
said, “The white men are fools to value a 
piece of iron so highly; if I had such money 
I would throw it in the river.” 

The Dutch and English valued three small 
black beads and six white ones at one penny. 

People in Dutch and English New York 
bought food and dress goods and paid their 
fare with wampum to cross the ferries. They 
also bought land and paid taxes and custom 
duties with wampum. In trading, the value 
of furs, grain, and Dutch and English coins 
was reckoned in wampum value. Wampum was used as money 
until the year 1700. Shells of which Indian money was made were 
abundant on the Long Island shores. 



Wampum Belts 






INDIAN MONEY 


117 


Belts, necklaces, and bracelets were made of wampum, and 
clothing was trimmed with it. Strings of wampum were used for 
presents, for messages, and for cards of invitation. The number and 
color of the beads on a string had a meaning. Belts of wampum 
were used as presents, and also in making treaties between Indian 
tribes and between Indians and settlers. Treaty belts can be seen in 
the Museum of Natural History. Some Indians say that Hiawatha 
invented wampum, and that Hiawatha means “ he who makes the 
wampum belt.” Others say it means “ he who seeks the wampum 
belt.” 



Story-Telling 


CHAPTER XXII 

THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN BOY 

The Indian boy’s school was the forest. His teachers were 
his father, grandfather, and the story-tellers of his tribe. As a 
very little boy he helped his mother and sisters, but as he grew 
older he went more and more with the men. The Indian boy’s 
studies were woodcraft, Indian history, picture reading and writing, 
public speaking, music, singing, dancing, and athletic sports. 

Woodcraft. Craft means skill or art. A craft is a trade that 
requires special knowledge, skill, or art of some kind. Indian 
woodcraft meant the knowledge and skill necessary to keep the 
Indians alive and well in their woodland home without any of the 
helps the white men knew. 


118 








THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN BOY 


119 


Woodcraft included manual training and nature study. The 
Indian’s manual training was making weapons and canoes. His 
nature study was the same as yours, — learning 
about trees, shrubs, flowers, animals, birds, and 
insects, and their uses for his purposes. 

The Indian boy had to learn to hunt animals 
for food and for clothing; to make a fire, without 
matches, so that he could cook his food and keep 
warm; to m^ke some kind of a shelter to protect 
himself from the cold and storms. He also had 
to learn how to find his way through the forests 
in any direction, and to travel miles and miles on 
foot alone in summer and winter. 

Indian History. Indian history 
was not written in books as your a Boy’s Bow and 
history is. The Indians had no Arrow, used for 
books. Parents and story-tellers K1LLING Birds 
taught the children history just as your teacher is 
teaching you ; but those boys and girls were obliged 
Stone Sinker re member their history stories, so that when they 
were older they could tell them to their children. Thus Indian 
history was passed on for many hundreds of years from 
parents to children. 

The Indians believed and told many beautiful stories 
about the Great Spirit, the sun, the moon, the stars, 
the winds, their giants, and their heroes. They believed 
many fables about how the animals, birds, and insects were created. 
In Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” the poet tells us a great 



5 


Bone Fish¬ 
hook 






120 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY 


deal of Indian history, and many of the fables the Indian chil¬ 
dren learned in their school. 

Picture Reading and Writing. The Indians living in the 
different parts of New York spoke the same language. 
They had a written language, but it was not like ours. 
It was not even like shorthand. It was picture writing, 
and was made up of pictures and signs. The picture 
of an animal or some other object stood for a word or 
perhaps a sentence. 

The obelisk in Central Park is covered with the picture 
writing of the people who lived in Egypt. In the Museum 
of Natural History you can see Indian picture writing 
drawn or painted on clothing and other objects, and also 
woven into wampum belts. When an Indian wished to 
write a letter to a friend he stripped a piece of birch 
bark from a tree, and wrote on it in his language of 
pictures and signs; he then made his mark, which was 
the same as 
signing his 
name. The 
Indians left 
messages for 
each other 
in the woods 

by writing on trees and Picture Writing on Birch Bark 

rocks in their sign language. The children learned to read this 
language, and to write it; they also were taught the meaning of 
the few Indian colors used in sending messages. 


Picture 
Writing 
on Wood 



THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN BOY 


121 




Turkey-Bone Whistle 


Athletic Sports. The Indian boys had contests in athletic sports. 
They practiced running, jumping, and ball playing, and had cham¬ 
pion games between the villages. Did you 
know that lacrosse was an Indian game ? 

Music, Singing, Dancing. In his first 
letter to Santa Claus a white boy asks for a drum; if he has a drum, 

he asks for a horn. The In¬ 
dian boy, too, liked musical 
instruments; he learned to 
play Indian dance music on drums, 
rattles, and whistles. He could 
make wooden whistles just as well 
as the country boy of to-day, but he 
did not know anything about a horn. 
Whistles were made also of the bone 
of a turkey’s leg. The cylinder of an 
Indian’s drum was a hollow log, and its 
head was a piece of deerskin. Rattles 
were made of turtle shells and gourds. 
In the Museum of Natural History 
there is an interesting collection of 
Indian musical instruments. The pic¬ 
tures in this book of the drum, whistle, 
and rattles are representations of a few. 

With these rude instruments the Indians 
beat the time for singing and dancing. 

We would not admire their dancing, 
and we would Call their music noise. Rattle made from a Gourd 


Drum and Drumstick 






122 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 

Public Speaking. The Indians liked to listen to good speaking. 
The boy who had the ability to speak well was carefully trained, 
so that when he was a man he could speak at meetings, and also 
act as a delegate for his tribe on important occasions when good 
speakers were needed. The Indians used beautiful and poetic 
language in their speeches. 



Turtle-Shell Rattle 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN GIRL 


Bone Awl, the Indian 
Girl’s Needle 


The Indian girl’s school was her home, and her teachers were 
her mother and grandmother. They taught her sewing, cooking, 
housekeeping, nursing, farming, and housebuilding. 

Sewing. In the Museum of Natural History you 
may see the Indian girl’s needles, which were hone 
and stone awls. Her thread 
was made of the small sinews 
of animals, and her cloth was 
deerskin. Instead of em¬ 
broidering with pretty silk, as girls do nowadays, she 
ornamented her work with porcupine quills and wam¬ 
pum. She began her sewing les¬ 
sons by making for her father 
tobacco pouches, and also bags 
in which he carried samp when 
he went hunting. Then she 
made moccasins and leggings, and felt very 
proud when she could sew on the wampum 
in pretty patterns. She was taught to weave 
a kind of cloth out of vegetable fibers, and 
to make mats, baskets, and fishing nets. 

Cooking. The Indian girl’s cooking lessons were very different 
from yours. The housekeeper had pots of soapstone and clay, which 

123 



Bag for Pipe 
and Tobacco 



Moccasins 



124 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


were made at home, and the little cook was taught to make them. 
She was also taught how to make broilers of sticks and to prepare 
a bed of hot ashes for baking. She learned to make Indian-meal 
bread, to broil, roast, and boil meat and fish, to make soup and stews, 
and to cook vegetables. Did you know that the Indians taught 

us how to make succotash? 

Serving. The Indians did 
not have tables or chairs, and 
their few dishes were made 
of wood, birch bark, and 



MiMui iitiib 

Indian Mat 



Indian Bag 


shells. There was no table setting taught in the wigwam, and the 
housekeepers never worried when their dishes were chipped or broken. 
At mealtime the Indians sat in a circle on the floor. Each person 
had a wooden bowl and a wooden or shell spoon. The food was 
served on a piece of wood or in the pot in which it was cooked, 







THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN GIEL 


125 


and each person helped himself to as much or as little as he wished. 
The men and boys ate first, and then the women and girls. The 
Indians’ drink was water. 

Housekeeping. Indian 
housekeeping was not very 
hard work. As you know, 
they had but few dishes 
and cooking utensils and 
no tables or chairs. The family slept on the floor or on raised 
platforms along the sides of the wigwams, and used furs and 
skin mats for bedding. When the family decided 
that the wigwam was very dirty and needed a 
cleaning they moved. That was the easiest way 
to clean house. 

Housebuilding. The children helped their 
mothers to build the new wigwam. The women 
made a framework of poles, which were arched 
over and covered with pieces of bark. This house 
was built so well that no rain could get into it 
through the bark covering. There 
was a door to the wigwam, also a hole in the 
roof, but no window. The fireplace was a pit in 
the middle of the earth floor, and the smoke 
went out through the hole in the roof, which 
was the only kind of a chimney the Indians 
knew anything about. Light and air could enter Clay Pot 
only through the doorway and smoke hole. Some wigwams were 
large enough for several families. 





Indian Basket 


126 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


Farming. In the spring the women and children planted corn, 
beans, and pumpkins, and enjoyed the work. In the fall they 
gathered the ripe corn and other vegetables and stored them for the 
winter. They then had a general good time to celebrate their harvest. 

Nursing. In the Indian girl’s 
nature-study lessons she learned 
something about Indian medi¬ 
cines, so that when she was a 
woman she could nurse the sick. 
The Indian medicines were made 
of herbs, roots, bark, and other 
forms of plant life. When the 
children living in old Manhattan were ill they did not get nice little 
sugar-coated pills or other medicines equally pleas- 
ant. They had to drink a big cupful of strong, 
bitter tea made of herbs and roots. Tool used in mak- 

Studies. The girls were taught music, singing, A Soapstone 
dancing, picture writing, history stories, myths, and 
fables. While the girls were studying and learning to be good little 
housekeepers they played games and enjoyed themselves in their 
free time as little girls do nowadays. 



CHAPTER XXIV 


THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN 

The Coming of the “ Half Moon ” as told by a Delaware 
Chief to a Missionary 

“A great many years ago, when men with white skin had never 
yet been seen in this land, some Indians, who were out fishing at a 
place where the sea widens, espied at a great distance something 
remarkably large floating on the water, and such as they had never 
seen before. 

“ These Indians, immediately returning to the shore, apprised 
their countrymen of what they had observed, and pressed them to 
go out with them and discover what it might be. They hurried out 
together, and saw with astonishment the phenomenon which now 
appeared to their sight, but could not agree upon what it was; 
some believed it to be an uncommonly large fish or animal, while 
others were of the opinion it must be a very big house floating 
on the sea. 

“At length the spectators concluded that this wonderful object 
was moving towards the land, and that it must be an animal or 
something else that had life in it; it would therefore be proper to 
inform all the Indians on the inhabited islands of what they had 
seen, and put them on their guard. 

“Accordingly they sent oil a number of runners and watermen 

to carry the news to their scattered chiefs, that they might send off 

127 


128 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OE NEW YOEK CITY 


in every direction for the warriors, with a message that they should 
come on immediately. These arriving in numbers, and having 
themselves viewed the strange appearance, and observing that it 
was actually moving towards the entrance of the river or bay, 
concluded it to be a remarkably large house in which the Man- 
nitto (the Great or Supreme Being) himself was present, and that he 

was probably coming to visit them. 

“ By this time the chiefs were as¬ 
sembled at York island and deliberat¬ 
ing as to the manner in which they 
should receive their Mannitto on his 
arrival. . . . While in this situation, 
fresh runners arrived, declaring it to 
be a large house of various colors and 
crowded with living creatures. . . . 
Other runners soon after arriving 
declare that it is positively a house 
full of human beings, of quite a 
different color from that of the In¬ 
dians, and dressed differently from them; that, in particular, one 
was dressed entirely in red, who must be the Mannitto himself. 

“ They are hailed from the vessel in a language they do not 
understand, yet they shout or yell in return by way of answer, 
according to the custom of their country. Many are for running off 
to the woods, but are pressed by others to stay, in order not to give 
offense to their visitor, who might find them out and destroy them. 

“ The house — some say large canoe — at last stops, and a canoe 
of smaller size comes on shore with the Bed Man and some others 





Descendant of an Indian Chief 




THE COMING OE THE WHITE MAN 


129 


in it; some stay with his canoe to guard it. The chiefs and wise 
men assembled in council, form themselves into a large circle, 
towards which the man in red clothes approaches with two others. 

u He salutes them with a friendly countenance, and they return 
the salute after their manner. They are lost in admiration; the 
dress, the manners, the whole appearance of the unknown 
strangers is to them a subject of wonder; but they are 
particularly struck with him who wore 
the red coat all glittering with gold 
lace, which they could in no manner 
’ account for. He surely must be the great Mannitto, 
but why should he have a white skin ? . . . 

“ The man with red clothes gave them beads, axes, hoes, 
and stockings such as the white people wear. They soon 
became familiar with each other and began to converse 
by signs. The Dutch made them understand that they 
would not stay here, that they would return home again, 
but would pay them another visit the next year, when 
they would bring them more presents and stay with 
them awhile; but as they could not live without 
eating, they should want a little land of them to 

Indian Baby’s sow seeds in order to raise herbs and vegetables 
Resting Place for their broth< 

“ They went away as they had said, and returned in the follow¬ 
ing season, when both parties were much rejoiced to see each other; 
but the whites laughed at the Indians, seeing that they knew not 
the uses of the axes and hoes they had given them the year before; 
for they had these hanging to their breasts as ornaments, and the 


130 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


stockings were made use of as tobacco pouches. The whites now 
put handles to the former for them, and cut down trees before 
their eyes, hoed up the ground, and put stockings on their legs. 
Here, they say, general laughter ensued among the Indians, that 
they had remained ignorant of the use of such valuable imple¬ 
ments, and had borne the weight of such heavy metal hanging 
to their necks for such a length of time. . . . 

“As the whites became daily more familiar with the Indians, 
they at last proposed to stay with them, and asked only for so 
much ground for a garden spot as, they said, the hide of a bullock 
would cover or encompass, which hide was spread before them. 
The Indians readily granted this apparently reasonable request; 
but the whites then took a knife and, beginning at one end of the 
hide, cut it up into a long rope, not thicker than a child’s finger, 
so that by the time the whole was cut up it made a great heap. 
They then took the rope at one end, and drew it gently along, 
carefully avoiding its breaking. It was drawn out into a circular 
form and, being closed at the ends, encompassed a large piece 
of ground. The Indians were surprised at the superior wit of the 
whites, but did not wish to contend with them about a little 
land, as they still had enough for themselves.” 



Landing of Henry Hudson 


CHAPTER XXV 

THE BEGINNING OF THE FUR TRADE 

Henry Hudson 

In 1609 the people of Europe knew very little about America. 
They thought it was a very narrow continent between Europe and 
Asia, and that there was a water way across it to the Pacific ocean. 
European sea captains and merchants wished to find this water 
way because it would give them a much shorter trade route to 
China and Japan. 


131 








132 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



A Dutch trading company hired Henry Hudson, a famous 
English North Pole explorer, to find this short water way across 
the American continent. 

Henry Hudson did not find this new trade route, but his 
account of the valuable furs that could be obtained here in 

exchange for cheap articles 
influenced the Dutch to en¬ 
gage in the fur trade, and 
the fur trade led to the set¬ 
tlement of New York. 

Compare the bone and 
stone tools and weapons and 
the earthenware pots in the 
Indian rooms of the Museum 
of Natural History with tools, 
weapons, and cooking utensils 
made of metal, and you will 
realize why the Indians placed 
so high a value on a spade, 
a saw, an ax, an awl, an iron 
pot, or a copper kettle. The 
Dutch traders had manufac¬ 
tured articles w T hich would 
make life more comfortable for the Indians. The Indians had 
valuable furs which would make fortunes for the Dutch traders, 
so they exchanged or traded one for the other, and in this way the 
fur trade between the Dutch and Indians began. Beaver skin was 
the most valuable fur. 


Henry Hudson 









HENEY HUDSON 


133 


The Dutch soon found out that Manhattan had many natural 
trading advantages. New York bay was then, as it is now, a 
fine, large, and safe harbor for any number of trading vessels. 
Dutch ships could sail up the Hudson river for one hundred and 
fifty miles, through the East river, and along the shores of Long 



Island sound, through Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull into Newark 
bay, and, by using small boats and canoes, they could travel still 
farther on the many rivers emptying into the waters named. 

Manhattan was made the traders’ headquarters, and Albany 
was made the trading center for the northern and western part of 
the state. Furs collected throughout the country drained by the 
waters named above were brought to Manhattan, and from Man¬ 
hattan they were shipped directly to Europe. 









134 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YOKK CITY 


Adrian Block 

Adrian Block was one of the first fur traders. He and his men 
did not make their homes here. They lived in these houses while 
trading. Although it was merely a trading settlement, it was a 
settlement, and is considered the beginning of our city. Block’s 
vessel, the Tiger , was burned a few days before he was ready to 
sail for home. The Indians helped him to build another ship and 
supplied him with food. Block was the first white man to build a boat 
on Manhattan, as well as the first white man to build a house here 


THIS TABLET MARKS THE SITE OF THE 
FIRST HABITATION OF WHITE MEN 
ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN 

ADKIAN BLOCK 

COMMANDER OF THE TIGER 
ERECTED HERE FOUR HOUSES OR HUTS 
NOVEMBER, 1613 

HE BUILT THE RESTLESS, THE FIRST VESSEL 
MADE BY EUROPEANS IN THIS COUNTRY 
THE RESTLESS WAS LAUNCHED 
IN THE SPRING OF 1614 
THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY 
THE HOLLAND SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 
SEPTEMBER, 1890 


Tablet at No. 41 Broadway 



Nieuw Nederlandt 


This view of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan is copied from an ancient engraving 
executed in Holland. The fort was erected in 1623, but was finished upon the 
above model by Governor Yan Twilier in 1635 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE DUTCH IN NEW YORK 

Peter Minuit 

The Dutch lived in Holland, or Netherland. Their principal 
city was Amsterdam. They named the part of America discovered 
and explored by Henry Hudson, New Netherland, und the southern 
end of the present borough of Manhattan, New Amsterdam. 

In 1623 some families from Holland settled in New Amsterdam, 
some settled in Brooklyn where the Navy Yard is now, and others 
settled in Albany. 


135 




















136 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


In 1626 Peter Minuit, the first Dutch governor came from 
Holland to take charge of the new settlements. The Indians were 
the “ rightful owners and tenants ” of the land, and it would have 
been wrong to have taken this land from them without paying 
for it. Peter Minuit’s first act was to buy the land which is now 
the borough of Manhattan. He paid for it with manufactured 
articles worth 60 guilders ($120 at the present time). . 

The Indians had no idea of the value of land. They thought 
they had more than they needed, and hence they were more than 
willing to give up some of it for things they valued highly. The 
Dutch knew they were paying very little for the island, but they 
did not realize the future value of the land they bought. Both 
parties were quite well satisfied with the bargain. 

Minuit made a good governor because he was a just, honorable, 
and sensible man. The Indians liked him and were very friendly to 
the Dutch settlers. 

When Peter Minuit was governor there was a ferry between 
Peck Slip, New Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. The ferryboat was a 
rowboat. A few years later the fare was fifteen cents’ worth of 
wampum. The ferryman’s farm was at Peck Slip, and he was a 
very important person. 

Pearl street is the oldest street in Manhattan, and was then on 
the river front. The road from the fort to the ferry was through 
Stone and Pearl streets. The land now between Pearl street and 
the river is made land. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


HOW NEW AMSTERDAM CHANGED FROM A DUTCH TRADING POST 
TO A DUTCH CITY 

The first settlers did not plan a city with streets and avenues 
running in straight lines; they thought only of the fur trade. 
After a few years they found out that the lumber was valuable, 
and that New Netherland was a good farming country. Rich 
Dutch merchants came to New Netherland and invested money 
in land and business. 

The boroughs of 
The Bronx, Brooklyn, 

Queens, and Richmond 
were purchased from 
the Indians, and also 
miles and miles of land 
along the Hudson 
river to Albany. The 
Dutch bought all this 
land cheap, but they 
gave the Indians the price they asked for it. It was paid for with 
cloth, tools, cooking utensils, beads, ornaments, etc. Dutch farmers 
came and settled in the five boroughs and along the shores of the 
Hudson river. Thus New Netherland became a farming as well as 
a commercial colony. 



137 





138 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


The first settlers in the five boroughs selected the low land on 
the water front for their farms. It was the most desirable land for 
them, because the ground could be readily prepared for the plantr 
ing of grains and vegetables, and because the people depended on 
boats to go from place to place, and to New Amsterdam, the busi¬ 
ness center. The lower part of Manhattan was divided into small 
farms called “bouweries.” The road that led through these farms 
to Stuyvesant’s country home was called Bouwerie Lane. To-day 
that road is called the Bowery. 

The Dutch farmer in Manhattan built his house on any part of 
his land that he pleased. Pathways led from houses to barns, and 
lanes led from house to house, from farm to farm. Roads led to the 
Stadt Huys, to the ferries, to the church in the fort, and to Bowling 
Green, which was then a market place and a parade ground for 
soldiers. 

Bowling Green was an open field near the fort and was called 
The Plaine. It was the central point in Dutch New York and all 
roads led to it. As the city grew in size and population, the roads 
became streets, but they remained winding and crooked. This 
explains why the streets below 14th street, Manhattan, are narrow 
and crooked. In the old part of Brooklyn the streets are narrow 
and planless for similar reasons. 

The people in the five boroughs of Dutch New York were not all 
Dutch, for English, Irish, Scotch, French, Germans, and Jews had 
settled here. Indian natives were still living in villages, and there 
were also many negroes here. Traders from many parts of the 
world were coming and going constantly. It is said that fifteen 
languages were spoken in our city when the fourth and last Dutch 


NEW AMSTERDAM A DUTCH CITY 


139 


governor lived in New Amsterdam. So yon see in early times the 
people of our city belonged to many different nationalities, but the 
great majority were Dutch and English. The Hollanders permitted 
people from other countries in Europe not only to live and work in 
New Netherland but also to buy land. The settlers were obliged to 
take the oath of allegiance as Dutch subjects the same as the Dutch 
colonists, but it was not necessary for them to be members of the 
Dutch Reformed Church. 

Dutch was the official language, and it was used in the city 
churches and taught in the city schools. As early as 1643 it was 
necessary to have an official interpreter for those who could not 
speak Dutch. The Indians had their own language and their own 
names for everything. They called the Dutch cloth workers and 
iron workers because they made cloth and articles of iron. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


PETER STUYVESANT 



Peter Stuyvesant was the fourth and last Dutch governor of 
New Netherland. As soon as the Indians saw him they called him 
Father Wooden Leg because he had a wooden leg. Governor Stuy¬ 
vesant was a soldier and had 
lost his leg while fighting. 

He lived in a town house 
near the site of South ferry. 
The house was afterwards 
called the White Hall, and 
the street where it stood is 
called Whitehall street. His 
country home was on his 
“ bouwerie,” which extended 
from about 16th street to 
Cooper square, and from 4th 
avenue to the East river. 
The house was built at a 
point east of 3d avenue and 
Peter Stuyvesant north of 10th street. 

Governor Stuyvesant employed many workmen, and in a few 
years there was quite a little village on his land, called Bouwerie 
village. There was a free school in his village. Stuyvesant gave 






PETER STUYVESANT 


141 


great attention to his farm and gardens. Until the year 1867 a 
pear tree that had been planted in his orchard stood at the corner 
of 13th street and 3d avenue. 

He built a chapel in Bouwerie village, and when he died he 
was buried in the family vault under the little Dutch village chapel. 
Years afterward the chapel was torn down, but his remains were 
not disturbed. St. Mark’s church now stands on the site of the one 
Stuyvesant built, and his tombstone is fastened to the east wall. 
This is the oldest church site in New York now occupied by 
a church. 

The Stuyvesant High School, near Stuyvesant square, is on 
the northern part of Stuyvesant’s farm and in the old Bouwerie 
village. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


EARLY ORGANIZATION 

City Departments of New Amsterdam 

Governor Stuyvesant made the little settlement look like a city 
by laying out some streets and by having a few paved. He com¬ 
pelled the people who lived in these streets to keep them clean. 

He also had a fire depart¬ 
ment, a police department, 
and a post-office depaTtment, 
and he improved the schools. 

The Dutch firemen were 
called firewardens; instead of 
fire engines and long fire hose, 
they had only two hundred 
and fifty leather buckets, and 
ladders. Fifty of these buck¬ 
ets were kept in the Stadt 
Huys; others were kept in 
business places, and some in 
private houses. 

When a fire broke out the 
bell on the Stadt Huys was rung, and all who could ran to help extin¬ 
guish the fire. The people formed a bucket brigade; that is, they formed 
in two lines from the burning house to the river. The filled buckets 
were passed up one line, and the empty buckets down the other. 

142 








EAELY ORGANIZATION 143 

When the fire was out it was the duty of the firewardens to collect 
the buckets and see that they were placed where they belonged. 

The first New York policemen were called watchmen. There 
were very few watchmen in the New Amsterdam police department. 

The post-office department was also a very simple one. Three 
post roads started from the Government House in the fort near 
Bowling Green. One road led through Stone and Pearl streets to the 
Brooklyn ferry. Another 
road led from the fort to 
Bouwerie village, and 
from there along the Har¬ 
lem post road (now 3d 
avenue) to Harlem. The 
Harlem river was crossed 
in a boat. The Boston 
road is an old post road 
in The Bronx. The third road led from Bowling Green to Bouwerie 
village, and from there along Broadway to the end of Manhattan, 
where the postman crossed the ferry to Kingsbridge. The post road 
continued along the Hudson river from Kingsbridge to Albany. 

Sailboats carried the mail between Albany and New Amsterdam 
in summer, but in winter people depended on the “foot post.” 
Indian mail carriers were sometimes employed in winter; this 
service was called the “Indian posts.” The Dutch mail service was 
not a very regular one. Friends generally settled near one another 
and consequently did not need to write letters. However, they did 
write to their friends in Europe, and many of these old letters are 
still in the libraries of Europe and America. 








CHAPTER XXX 


THE FIRST NEW YORK SCHOOLS 

A schoolmaster was sent to New Amsterdam as soon as the Hol¬ 
landers thought that the settlers could pay for one. The first New 
York schoolmaster was Adam Roelantsen. He came here in 1633 
and built a house in Stone street. The schoolroom was a room in 

his house. As he was 
the only schoolmaster 
in New Amsterdam, 
he expected to make 
a good living; but the 
people did not like 
him, and he taught 
here only a few years. 
Then another school¬ 
master was appointed, 
The Stadt Huys and as the settlements 

The first Dutch free school was opened in this building grew larger and larger 

more schoolmasters were needed. There was a small private school 
in New Amsterdam, and those who could afford it sent their chil¬ 
dren to this school. Some parents employed private tutors and 
had their children taught at home. 

There was not much ready money in New Netherland in those 
days. The Dutch did not pay the schoolmasters in cash, but in 
wampum, beavers’ skins, and grain, 

144 






THE FIE ST NEW YOEK SCHOOLS 


145 



The First Free School in the Colonies ( 1652 ). When Peter 
Stuyvesant came to New Amsterdam he was not pleased with the 
town school. He said that “ the education of the children had been 
neglected.” He had a schoolhouse built, and while the children 
were waiting for it to be finished they were taught in a room in 
the Stone Tavern, which was afterward used as a City Hall and 
called the Stadt Huys. The site of the first New York free school- 
house— the public school of New Amsterdam—is 73 Pearl street. 


Dutch Cottage in New York ( 1679 ) 

Although Stuyvesant did so much to improve the settlement, 
the people did not like him. They wanted more freedom, and 
wrote to the authorities in Holland, asking them to make New 
Amsterdam a city. In 1653 a charter was granted, which changed 
the settlement of New Amsterdam to the city of New Amsterdam. 




146 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF HEW YOEK CITY 


The Stone Tavern became the Stadt Huys, or City Hall, and meet¬ 
ings of city officials were held there. The city then meant that part of 
Manhattan south of Wall street, and less than one thousand people. 
Now it means five boroughs and more than four million people. 

The birthday of our city is February 2, 1653, and it is now 
more than two hundred and fifty years old. 

Dutch Schools. The Dutch schools are less interesting to read 
about than the Indian schools. The children learned to read, write, 
and cipher. They had readers and spellers, and usually copied their 
“ sums ” in a blank book. Steel pens had not been invented. The 
children were taught to make pens out of goose quills. 

When the Dutch girl left school she helped her mother with 
housework, sewing, spinning, weaving, and knitting. A boy usu¬ 
ally worked for his father. If his father were a farmer, he learned 
farming and how to trade his farm products for things he needed. 
His bookkeeping was easy. If his father were a trader, he had to 
learn the market value of furs, grain, and other articles, and also 
the money value of many strange-looking coins brought here by 
the foreign traders. When he was not sure of the value of a coin 
he weighed it in the money scales. 

The Dutch people in New Netherland and their governors, 
officers of the law, ministers, and schoolmasters belonged to the 
Dutch Reformed Church. All schoolmasters were members of that 
church. When New York became an English colony the Dutch 
Reformed Church Society (the oldest church society in the city} 
continued to support its own free schools. 

The school, founded by the Dutch settlers in 1633, is still in 
existence. It is the oldest private school in the United States and 
is called the Collegiate School. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


LIFE IN THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS 

Trades and Occupations 

A great many men settling in the five boroughs preferred farm¬ 
ing to trading. Farming paid well for two reasons : first, land was 
plentiful and cheap, and was sold or leased on easy terms; second, 
there was always a market for flour, good 
butter, cheese, and eggs. 

The flour business became so profitable 
that wheat was raised in large quantities. 

Windmills, just like those used in Holland 
to-day, were built on these Dutch farms. 

The man who could not afford to build a 
mill carried his grain to a mill owner, and 
paid for the grinding. The farmers sold 
their farm and dairy products in the New 
Amsterdam markets and stores. How would the farmers get to 
New Amsterdam from Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island? 

People living on farms and in little villages miles away from 
New Amsterdam depended on peddlers for many things. There 
were shops and stores of all kinds in the little city, where peddlers 
could fill their packs for customers. The peddler was a very impor¬ 
tant person in those days. There were no newspapers printed in the 

colony, and when the peddler arrived at a farmhouse the whole 

147 



Dutch Windmill 


148 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


family gathered around him to hear the latest city news, as well as to 
admire what he had in his pack and bargain for what they needed. 
What would a peddler have in his pack for a father? a mother? a 
girl? a boy? What is the date of the first Dutch settlement in your 
own borough? Find the answer to this question in the book. Do 
you live in an old Dutch settlement? If not, how far away from 



Collect Pond as it was in Olden Times 
Site of city prison at Centre and Leonard streets 


your school was the first Dutch settlement in your borough? In 
what direction would you travel to reach the nearest Dutch settle¬ 
ment that you know of? 

You have learned that the Dutch were fur traders, lumber deal¬ 
ers, and farmers. They became very prosperous, and New Amster¬ 
dam was the business center of the colony. Ships were constantly 
unloading and loading along the docks and wharves because of 
its extensive commerce. What is a business center ? What did the 
Dutch have in abundance? What did they need that was made in 




LIFE IN THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS 


149 


Europe? What do you think the ships brought to New Amster¬ 
dam? What do you think the ships took away? What do we call 
men who buy and sell goods? What do we call a man who is in 
command of a ship? What do we call the men under his command? 
What do we call the men who load and unload vessels? 

Beaver street was the center of the fur trade. On a counter of 
a store in Beaver street might have been seen the skin or fur of a 
beaver or a bear. How did it get there ? Beekman street was the 
principal home of the leather trade and has remained so. To whom 
did the leather trade give employment ? 

The houses were built of wood, brick, and stone. Who builds 
houses ? Mention the different tradesmen employed in building a 
house; in furnishing it. Mention other trades that you think some 
men in New Amsterdam worked at. Do you think there was much 
work for men who had trades? Were all men living there either 
tradesmen or merchants ? If not, what were they ? 

There were many ways of earning a living in New Amsterdam. 
As the Dutch settlers were industrious and very saving, every family 
could have a comfortable home. There were but few wealthy men 
in the city. In those days a man who was worth twenty thousand 
dollars was considered a very rich man. Some of the rich men had 
town houses in New Amsterdam and country houses farther north 
on the island. The great majority lived in town all the year round. 

When we speak of New Amsterdam we mean that part of 
Manhattan island south of Wall street. Look at your maps. Find 
Wall street. Across Wall street there was a very strong, thick, 
high wall built of wood. This wall extended from Pearl street, 
which was then on the East river, to Greenwich street, which 


150 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY 


was then on the Hudson river. It was built to defend the city on 
the north, and at certain places along the wall there were block 
houses. The city wall was guarded day and night by soldiers. 

At Pearl street and the East river, and at Broadway and Wall 
street, there were strong, heavy gates which were locked at night. 
The entrance to the city at the East river was called the Water 

Gate. The en¬ 
trance at Broad¬ 
way was called the 
Land Gate. Broad¬ 
way was the prin¬ 
cipal street and 
extended from 
Bowling Green to 
the Land Gate, 
and then beyond 
to City Hall Park, 

Tiie Water Gate at Pearl Street and the East River ^ 

which was only a 

pasture where cows were kept from early morning until sundown. 

The town herdsman took care of the people’s cows. He called 
for them every morning at sunrise, drove them to the pasture, and 
looked after them during the day. A little before sunset he drove 
the cows back to the city, and stopped at every gate to blow his 
horn and thus tell the people that their cow was at home. 







CHAPTER XXXII 


DUTCH CHILDREN 



A little boy was 
asked to tell some¬ 
thing he knew 
about the Dutch 
settlers. He an¬ 
swered: “They 
lived in brick 
houses with high, 
steep, pointed 
roofs; they were 
very clean, and 
had Christmas 
trees and crullers, 
and the father 
smoked a long pipe 
and liked to play 
ninepins on Bow¬ 
ling Green.” 

This little 
boy’s answer gives Ddtch Women „ Holland 

one a good idea of 

the pleasant home life of the Dutch. A “high, steep, pointed roof,” 
such as the boy described, is called a gable roof. The top floor of 

151 



152 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


such a house is called the garret. Here the nuts were stored that 
the children gathered in the fall. Crullers were not the only good 
things the children had to eat. Food was plentiful and cheap. The 
mothers were good cooks and made many kinds of cakes, pies, and 
puddings for them. 

The Dutch liked holidays. In New York they celebrated the 
holidays of old Holland. On these holidays everybody stopped 
work and enjoyed himself. On Easter Monday the children played 
at cracking colored eggs. On May Day they had May parties and 
danced around the Maypole. On Pinkster Monday all went to the 
woods to spend the day. They took their food with them in baskets 
and had a regular picnic. They gathered the beautiful wild flowers 
and brought them home to make their rooms look pretty. 

The children liked the Christmas holidays best of all. They 
hung up their stockings and expected presents from jolly old 
St. Nicholas just as you do now. The fathers and big brothers 
went to the woods, cut down Christmas trees, and brought them 
home. The trees were then dressed and looked bright and pretty. 

On New Year’s Day friends, old and young, called to wish each 
other a Happy New Year. Everybody was welcome, even strangers, 
and there were crullers and New Year’s cakes and all kinds of good 
things to eat and drink. Governor Stuyvesant, the English gov¬ 
ernors, and President Washington always had receptions on New 
Year’s Day. Washington thought it a delightful custom, and said 
he hoped the people of New York would always make New Year’s 
calls. This friendly old Dutch custom was continued in New York 
until a few years ago. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 


UNDER THE ENGLISH FLAG 


Why New Amsterdam became an English City 


When New Amsterdam 
became a city in 1653 and there 
were other officers of the law 
as well as a governor, the peo¬ 
ple expected more liberty. But 
Stuyvesant did not believe in 
free government. He was very 
stubborn and had a very bad 
temper. He did what he 
thought was best for the col¬ 
ony. He would not listen to 
the advice of anybody, and got 
angry when people disagreed 
with him. So the people of 
New Netherland considered 
him unjust to them and grew 
to dislike him. 

The English knew that New 
Netherland was a rich colony 
and that the people were 
dissatisfied with Governor 


Stuyvesant surrendering the Fort 
to the English 


153 





154 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Stuyvesant. One day in September, 1664, some English war ships 
appeared in New York harbor and demanded the surrender of New 
Netherland. Stuyvesant said he would never surrender. He wished 
to fight, but the people refused to help him. They thought they 
would have more freedom under English rule. Stuyvesant was 
compelled to surrender. The English changed the name of New 
Amsterdam to New York. 

The English made no effort at first to change the Dutch cus¬ 
toms, but after a few years English was declared the official lan¬ 
guage, and English officers of law took the places of Dutch officers. 
Thus the Dutch city of New Amsterdam became the English city 
of New York. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 

HOW NEW YORK BECAME AN AMERICAN CITY 

In 1776 New York was one of thirteen English colonies in 
America. The colonists were British subjects, but they did not 
enjoy the same rights and privileges as British subjects living in 
England. They were governed by unjust laws and were dissatisfied 
with English rule. Delegates from the colonies met in convention 
in Philadelphia to discuss ways and means of obtaining justice 
from King George III. At this time the majority of the people 
in the colonies did not wish to be independent of England; they 
hoped the delegates would be able to settle the trouble. But the 
king was offended with the colonists and opposed all their wishes. 
The convention then decided that the colonies ought to be free from 
English rule. The Declaration of Independence was written, and 
adopted on July 4, 1776, and then the Seven Years’ War for inde¬ 
pendence began. The Americans were victorious. When the war 
was over the thirteen united colonies became thirteen free states, 
and New York became a free American city. 

In one hundred and seventy-four years New York had seen 
seven changes: (1) it had been the home of the Indians; (2) it was 
visited by Henry Hudson; (3) it was visited by fur traders; (4) it 
became a Dutch trading settlement; (5) it became a Dutch city; 
(6) it then became an English city; and (7) when the English 
army left New York in 1783 it became what it has remained, — a 
free American city. 


155 


o N Gf K T I I,AN n 



156 


The Duke’s Plan 





































NEW YORK AS AN ENGLISH COLONY 


CHAPTER XXXY 

GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH 

The English made many improvements in New York. One of 
the first was the cleaning of streets. Men were paid to carry away 
the heaps of dirt. This was the beginning of the street-cleaning 
department. The city wall was taken down and in its place a 
street was laid out. The streets were lighted at night for the first 
time. On every seventh house there was a lantern hung on a pole. 
Does not this seem a very strange way to light the streets ? 

On New Year’s Day, in 1673, the first regular mail in the English 
colonies started from New York to Boston. “ Each first Monday of 
the month he sets out from New York and is to return within the 
month from Boston to us again,” wrote the governor to a friend. 

The postman rode on horseback along the old Dutch post 
road from Bowling Green to Harlem river. He then crossed the 
river to the Boston road and went along the Boston road through 
The Bronx. From The Bronx he rode in a northeasterly direction 
to Boston. 

He stopped at farmhouses and villages along the way to sleep 
and to eat. For miles and miles he rode through forests where 
he had to mark the trees as he went along so that he would know 

the path he had taken and thus find his way back. He crossed 

157 


158 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



the large rivers in a boat because in those days there were no 
bridges spanning them. 

The colony increased in wealth and numbers, and New York 
city became a gay and lively place. In the winter the wealthy 

class lived in the city and 

. 


in summer on their coun¬ 
try estates, just as they do 
now. 

The English governor 
and officers of the law and 
the English army officers 
living here with their fam¬ 
ilies enjoyed many of the 
pleasures and amusements 
they had had in England. 
A theater was opened and many people attended the plays and 
concerts given there. They also had afternoon teas, balls, and 
parties. In summer the boys had fishing, boating, ball playing, 
bowling, golf, and other outdoor games; in winter, skating, sleigh¬ 
ing, and coasting. 

The English always celebrated the birthdays of the king and 
the queen. When New York became an English colony these holi¬ 
days were added to the many holidays celebrated by the Dutch. 
On English holidays the soldiers with their military bands paraded. 
In the evening the city was illuminated and there was a grand ball 
at the Government House. The boys could have processions of 
their own and light bonfires and make all the noise they wished 
with drums, horns, and whistles. 


Corner of Exchange Place and Broad 
Street ( 1690 ) 




GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH 159 


New Yoek Schools and the Change in Language 

When the Dutch surrendered their settlements to the English 
there were free schools in three boroughs, — Manhattan, Brooklyn, 
and Queens. In New Amsterdam there was also one high school 
called a Latin school and several private schools. The Dutch lan¬ 
guage and the Dutch reformed religion were taught in these schools. 
The Dutch loved their language and their church. 

The English governors allowed the Dutch to have their own 
churches and schools, but the government would not give the 
Dutch free schools any money. The Dutch Church Society sup¬ 
ported as many free schools as it could. 

The English had their own schools and churches of different 
denominations. People who spoke other languages had their churches 
also. In a few years there 
were in New Amsterdam 
Dutch schools and English 
schools, Dutch churches, 

English churches, a Ger¬ 
man church, a French 
church, and a Jewish 
synagogue. The educated 
people understood Dutch 
and English. The English 
language was spoken in 
the City Hall and in the 
courts. The young Dutch people spoke English in school and with 
their English friends, and they began to attend the English churches. 



View in Manhattan: Houses and 
Churches (1746) 







160 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


For these reasons Dutch was spoken less and less as the years 
went by, and English became the language of New York long before 
the Zenger trial. 

The First College in New York City. Until 1754 there were 
only primary schools and Latin or high schools in New York. 
Boys who wished to go to college were sent to Harvard, Yale, 
Princeton, or to Europe. In that year some New York gentlemen 
decided to found a college in New York. It was called King’s 
College. The Trinity Church Society gave the college a portion 
of the church lands. Some of the money necessary for the build¬ 
ings was raised in England and a part was raised in New York. 
Some of the books for the college were sent from England and 
others were given by New York gentlemen. The classes were 
taught in the vestry room of Trinity until a building was ready. 
The president and professors belonged to the Church of England. 

The college and grounds covered the block now bounded by 
West Broadway (formerly called College place), Barclay, Church, 
and Murray streets. This land sloped down to the river bank, 
which was then at Greenwich street. During the Revolution the 
college was used as a prison. When the war was over the name 
was changed to Columbia College. Pictures and other valuable 
articles belonging to the college were stored in the New York 
Library in City Hall. During the war the English soldiers stole 
many valuable articles belonging to the college and sold them. 

By the year 1857 the site of the old college had become such a 
business center that the trustees decided to move farther uptown. 
New college buildings were erected on the block between 49th 
and 50th streets, Madison and 4th avenues. In 1892 this part of 


GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH 161 


Trinity Church, — the 
First English Church in 
New York 



the city was no longer suitable, and the present historic site on 
Morningside Heights was selected. Columbia College, the old King’s 
College, is now Columbia University. The story of Columbia Univer¬ 
sity buildings is the story of 
the growth of the west side 
of Manhattan northward. 


The English people held 
their church services in a 
Dutch church until they had 
a church of their own. Part 
of the money needed to build 
the new English church was 
collected in New York and 
part in England. The gov¬ 
ernment helped the Trinity 
Church Society by giving a 
large farm called Queen 
Anne’s farm. This English 
farm had been two Dutch 
farms, and it extended from 
Fulton street to Christopher Trinity Church 

street, and from Broadway to the Hudson river. The first church 
was destroyed by the fire that occurred the night before Nathan 
Hale was put to death. A new church was built on the same site, 












162 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


and nearly fifty years afterward it was torn down because it was 
unsafe. Then the present Trinity church was built. 

The Trinity Church Society gave away or sold some of its land, 
but it still owns a large portion of what was the old farm and is 
the richest church society in the United States. In colonial times 
the society gave some land to King’s College. In 1820 it sold 
some of the farm to the Public School Society for a new free school 
at the corner of Hudson and Grove streets. That part of the city 
was then called Greenwich village, so Public School No. 3 now 
stands in the old Greenwich village, and on part of the land once 
known as Queen Anne’s farm. 

Trinity churchyard is the oldest one in our city. When New 
York belonged to the Dutch this churchyard was many feet lower 
than it is at present. A great many officers and soldiers who died 
while in prison during the Seven Years’ war for independence were 
buried in Trinity churchyard. The large monument that stands 
opposite Pine street, called the Soldiers’ Monument, was erected in 
their honor. 

St. PauPs Chapel. St. Paul’s chapel belongs to Trinity parish. 
It was built in colonial times and is the oldest and the only colonial 
church building in Manhattan. When the chapel was built that 
part of Manhattan was “the country,” and the church members 
decided to have the new church face the Hudson river. For this 
reason the rear of the chapel now faces Broadway, which was not a 
very important street in those days. 

Standing at the principal entrance in colonial times one saw 
beautiful lawns and green fields sloping down to the Hudson river, 
and across the river the wooded shores of New Jersey. When 


GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH 163 

Washington lived in New York he attended St. Paul’s chapel regu¬ 
larly, and no doubt enjoyed the beautiful and attractive view from 
the church door. Perhaps he walked under the shady trees that 
grew where office buildings now 
stand. In the chapel you can still 
see the pew in which he sat and 
also the pew of Governor De Witt 
Clinton, the first president of the 
Free School Society. 

The First Printing Press 
in New York 

In 1693 William Bradford set 
up the first printing press in New 
York city. His office was at 81 
Pearl street, near Hanover square, 
which was then called Printing 
House square. It was a business 
center and the shopping district for 
a great many years. 

The printing press of those days 
was only a hand press. Paper was 
very scarce and much dearer than it is now. Bradford did the gov¬ 
ernment printing and also printed almanacs, pamphlets, and maps. 
In 1725 he founded the Weekly Gazette , the first New York news¬ 
paper and the fourth newspaper in the English colonies. His 
newspaper office was on the site of the present Cotton Exchange. 
Newspapers were printed weekly. Each page was about one fourth 




164 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


the size of a page of one of our daily papers. Bradford’s printing 
press is still in existence. When Bradford died he was buried in 
Trinity churchyard. If you visit the churchyard you can see his grave. 


The English City Hall 



A new City Hall was built on the corner of Wall and Broad 
streets where the Sub-Treasury now stands. It was described as 

“the most magnificent 
building in the city.” The 
governor of New York 
and his council, the law¬ 
makers of the colony, and 
the city officers of the law 
held their meetings in the 
new City Hall. In the 
building there was a 

City Hall in Wall Street before the court room, afterwards tllO 
Revolution 

scene of the Zenger trial, 

and also cells for prisoners. The building cost about £3000. 


The First Library 

The first New York Library, called the New York Society 
Library, was opened in a room in the English City Hall, in 1700. 
During the war for independence, when New York was the head¬ 
quarters of the English army, many of the books and other valuable 
articles of this library were sold in the streets by the English sol¬ 
diers. The New York Society Library, the oldest in our city, is 
now in University place, Manhattan. 








CHAPTER XXXVI 

EARLY NEWSPAPERS 

The citizens of New Amsterdam surrendered to the English for 
two reasons: first, because they were not satisfied with Dutch rule; 
second, because they thought the 
English rulers would give them 
more liberty. They were well 
pleased with the first English 
governor. He was a just man 
and tried to please the people 
and make them like him. 

As a rule, the governors did 
not stay here very long. A num¬ 
ber of the royal governors tried 
to deprive the people of some of 
their rights and were unjust in 
many ways ; others were dis¬ 
honest. As the years passed, the 
ruling classes were guilty of so many unjust acts toward the people 
that they had good cause to complain and dislike them. 

Quarrels between the People and the English Officers of the Law. 
The royal governor was appointed by the king, but the lawmaking 
body of the colony was elected by the people. This lawmaking body 
made the laws to govern the colony. It had the right to tax the 
people for the money needed to pay the expenses of the government, 

165 



166 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


and also for money for the use of the English kings. The people 
always paid the taxes that their own lawmakers ordered them to 
pay, either for their own use or for the use of the king. 

The lawmakers paid the salary of the royal governor and decided 
how the public money should be spent. There were many quarrels 
between the governors and the lawmakers because the lawmakers 



Turtle JBay from 45th to 48th Streets, East River, 
Manhattan (Old-time view) 


would not give them as much money as they asked for. In these 
quarrels the people always sided with the lawmakers they had elected. 

Gradually two parties began to form, — the people’s party and 
the government party. The government party was made up of the 
governor and other English officials, some wealthy Dutch mer¬ 
chants, and English landowners. The people’s party was made up 
of the wealthy Dutch landowners, the Dutch farmers, men in many 
different kinds of business, and foreign settlers. There were also 
many men who did not belong to either party. 






EARLY NEWSPAPERS 


167 


Editor Bradford belonged to the government party, and his 
paper, the Weekly Gazette , always sided with the government, no 
matter how wrong or how unjust or how dishonest it was toward 
the people. He never helped the people in any way, but always sided 
against them and in favor of the government and the ruling classes. 
Therefore the people called his paper the “ Aristocrats’ paper.” 

The people of New York said that as they were free English 
citizens, they had the right to enjoy freedom of speech and the 
freedom of the press. That means, first, that they had the right 
to speak freely about what the ruling party did and said; second, 
they had the right to tell the truth about unjust and dishonest 
rulers; third, they had the right to have their side of the story 
in all disputes published. 

The Second New York Newspaper and the Eighth in the English 
Colonies. In 1733 some rich men gave John Peter Zenger enough 
money to start a newspaper to help the people’s party. It was called 
the Weekly Journal. Many of the articles in it were well written and 
told the readers what the people thought about the actions of the 
governor and other officials. The writers attacked everybody con¬ 
nected with the ruling party who deserved to be attacked. 

At last the governor and his friends became very angry with 
Editor Zenger. They said that all he had published about them 
was untrue. Some editions of his paper were seized and burned 
publicly. Zenger was put in prison in a cell in the City Hall on 
the charge of printing falsehoods, and kept there for six months 
to await trial. 

This trial was the first open contest of the people of the 
colonies for their rights. They had good cause to be very anxious 


168 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


about the result. The colonists knew that it would be the end of 
their liberty if the New York governor could suppress freedom 
of speech and the freedom of the press by using the law to punish 
an editor for free speaking and free writing. 

The Freedom of the Press established in America. Andrew Hamil¬ 
ton, the greatest lawyer in the colonies, lived in Philadelphia. Some 
of Zenger’s friends who were leaders of the people’s party went 

to see him and asked 
him to take charge of 
the case. He said he 
would gladly do so as a 
patriotic duty, and that 
he would not accept a 
fee or a reward of any 
kind for his services. 

Zenger’s trial took 
place in the City Hall 
on Wall street, where 
the Sub-Treasury stands to-day. The people were surprised when 
Hamilton took charge of the case, for they did not know that 
Zenger’s friends had been to see him. Hamilton read in court 
some of Zenger’s articles that the jury knew were truthful. He 
pointed out to them that this case was not merely the case of an 
editor of a paper, nor of New York alone, but that it was a case 
that would affect the liberty of every citizen in the English colonies. 

He told the jury that their verdict would decide whether 
men had the right to oppose the acts of unjust rulers by speak¬ 
ing and writing the truth. The jury felt that Hamilton was right 
in all he said and that Zenger had done nothing wrong. They 






EARLY NEWSPAPERS 169 

went out of the room for a few moments and returned with the 
verdict of Not Guilty. 

This was a great victory for the people, and we must give much 
credit to Andrew Hamilton. He established the freedom of the 
press in America in 1735 by the way he conducted the case. When 
he started for his home in Philadelphia he was escorted to the boat by 
great crowds of peo¬ 
ple. Andrew Hamil¬ 
ton was a hero in the 
fight for the freedom 
of the press. 

Ways of Travel in 
1735 . Hamilton was 
eighty years old at the 
time of this trial and 
he knew he would not 
enjoy the trip to New 
York. The journey 
was not a pleasant one. People who liked the sea could come from 
Philadelphia to New York by water. The sailing vessels carried 
freight and passengers, and if the weather were fine they made 
the trip in three days. The berths were not very comfortable, and 
the passengers supplied their own food. 

The journey by iand was made on horseback, in a private carriage, 
or in the stagecoach. Travelers ate and slept at inns and taverns. 
All roads were bad, and very few of the inns or taverns were good; 
the meals were poor, and sometimes five or six people were obliged 
to sleep in one room. Rivers and bays were crossed in rowboats, 
flatboats, or sailboats. 








V 



170 


Cortelyou House, Brooklyn (1699) 






















CHAPTER XXXVII 


TROUBLE WITH ENGLAND 

The Stamp Act 

In 1765 the English king, George III, needed a large sum of 
money, and he decided to raise this money by taxing the colonists. 
The surest and easiest way for a government to collect money is by 
means of a stamp tax, so King George had the English government 
pass a law called the Stamp Act. 

If the Stamp Act had been obeyed, the people would have been 
forced to pay a stamp tax on many articles bought and sold. Some 
stamps cost a penny and some cost ten pounds in English money. 
The law required all newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets to be 
printed on stamped paper, and also required a stamp on every kind 
of business paper or law paper. 

If a father bought a newspaper, he would have had to pay for the 
newspaper and also for the stamp on it. When he paid his rent he 
would have had to pay for the stamp on the receipt. When he paid 
a bill he would have had to pay for the stamp on the bill. 

The people in the thirteen colonies united and decided that they 
would not obey an unjust law “ made in England,” and they refused 
to use any of the stamps or stamped paper. They said they were 
willing to give the king money, and to be taxed for it by their own 
lawmakers; but they felt that they would lose their liberty if they 
allowed the English king and his lawmakers to tax them when 
they pleased and how they pleased. 

171 


172 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


The people were so excited when the stamps for New York came 
from England that the governor locked up the stamps in the fort 
near Bowling Green. He feared the people would get them and 
destroy them. The stamps were to have been used for the first 
time on November 1st. On October 31st the merchants of New York 
held a meeting in a coffeehouse, and decided to buy nothing that 
came from England while the Stamp Act remained a law. 

The next day the shops and stores were closed, the flags were 
put at half mast, and the bells in the city tolled as if a funeral were 
passing. In the evening great crowds gathered in the streets and 
walked toward The Fields, now City Hall Park, to attend a meeting 
of the Sons of Liberty, a patriotic society. 

When the meeting was over the people formed in a torchlight 
procession and marched down Broadway. Some one had made a 

dummy and dressed it 
to look like the gov¬ 
ernor. The crowd 
broke open the gov¬ 
ernor’s stable, took 
out his coach, and put 
the dummy on it. 
They dragged the 
coach around the 
street and then to 
Bowling Green. 

Great crowds of 
people surrounded the fort. They tried to get inside to destroy the 
stamps; hut the soldiers protected the fort without firing a shot, 



Fort Amsterdam and the First Brick 
Dwellings erected in tiie City 






TROUBLE WITH ENGLAND 


173 


and the governor refused to give up the stamps. The people then 
made a bonfire on Bowling Green and burned the governor's coach 
and the dummy. 

Afterward the governor was obliged to hand over the stamps to 
the mayor and aldermen, and the stamps were locked up in the City 
Hall. When the news that the colonies were united against the unjust 
law reached the king, he felt that if he tried to force the colonists 
to obey it would cause a war, so the Stamp Act was repealed. 

The following is a stanza of one of the popular songs of the time. 

With the beasts of the wood we ’ll ramble for food 
And lodge in wild deserts and caves, 

And live, poor as Job, on the skirts of the globe 
Before we ’ll submit to be slaves, brave boys, 

Before we ’ll submit to be slaves ! 


June 4, 1766; the Liberty Pole 

The repeal of the Stamp Act was a great victory for the colonists. 
The government party and the English soldiers were very angry 
about it. As the 4th of June was the king’s birthday, the people 
of New York decided to make it a day of rejoicing because the 
quarrels about the Stamp Act were ended. 

The Sons of Liberty put up a Liberty Pole in The Fields very 
near the site of the post office. A flag waved from the top of the 
pole bearing the words, “ The King, Pitt, 1 and Liberty.” Bands 
played, and there was firing of pistols and cannon. An ox was 
roasted in The Fields, and there were speeches, singing, and bonfires 
in the evening. The city officials and military officers were present. 

1 Pitt was a great English statesman who sided with the colonists. 


174 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY 


The rejoicings of the people and the sight of the flag with the 
word “ Liberty” on it angered the soldiers. The colonists were 
obliged to feed the soldiers and give them houses to live in, and the 
soldiers gave them a great deal of trouble in many ways. 

One night the soldiers cut down the Liberty Pole. The Sons of 
Liberty at once erected a second pole. That was cut down, and the 
Sons of Liberty erected a third pole. They guarded this pole so 



View of Old Buildings in William Street 


well that the soldiers did not get a chance to cut it down until one 
night in March. When the Sons of Liberty found their third pole 
cut down they erected a fourth one and fastened it with iron braces. 
One night, three years later, the soldiers pulled down the fourth 
pole and sawed it into pieces. They piled the pieces in front of the 
door of the house where the Sons of Liberty held their meetings. 




TROUBLE WITH ENGLAND 


175 


The Battle of Golden Hill (January 18 , 1770 ): the First 
Blood shed in the War for Independence 

The people were enraged the next morning when the fourth 
pole was found in pieces. There was great excitement in the city, 
and a crowd soon gathered in The Fields. The corner of John and 
William streets was then a hill, and in the early times wheat was 
planted there. When 
the wheat was ripe it 
looked like gold in the 
sunshine, and for this 
reason it was named 
Golden Hill. 

On the morning of 
the battle the trouble 
began between the 
Sons of Liberty and the 
soldiers. The soldiers 
fell back to Golden 
Hill. They then charged with their bayonets on the crowd, whose 
only weapons were stones, clubs, and knives. One citizen was killed 
and several were wounded. This was called the battle of Golden 
Hill. It was the first bloodshed of the American Revolution. 

A short time after the battle the Sons of Liberty bought a 
piece of land on the western border of The Fields and erected a 
fifth pole. It was a great high pole with a vane on top, on which 
was one word, — Liberty. This pole was still standing when the 
Declaration of Independence was read. 


GOLDEN HILL. 

HERE JANUARY 18, 1770, 

THE FIGHT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE 
“SONS OF LIBERTY” 

AND THE 

BRITISH REGULARS, 16th FOOT. 

FIRST BLOOD IN THE 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 

ERECTED BY THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 


Tablet, Northwest Corner of John and 
William Streets 



176 


HOME GEOGBAPHY OF HEW YOEK CITY 


Independence Day, the Birthday of the United States 

After the repeal of the Stamp Act the king tried in other ways to 
tax the people against their will, hut they would not pay any kind 
of a tax that was not ordered by their own lawmakers. The king 
was very angry with them and called them rebels. As the trouble 



Redoubt on Valley Grove, Brooklyn (1776) 


was very serious, statesmen from the colonies met in convention 
in Philadelphia. These statesmen hoped to find some way to end 
the trouble between the king and the colonists. 

They sent letters to the king, but he would not read them. 
They sent delegates to England, but the king would not see or 
speak to them. He said that the king was the lawmaker for the 
colonies and that the colonists must do as he wished. He needed 
a larger army than he had, so he hired foreign soldiers to come 
here and help his army fight the colonists. 

When this news reached America there was a second meeting 
of statesmen in Philadelphia. This meeting was called a Congress. 





TROUBLE WITH ENGLAND 


177 



This Congress voted to declare the colonies free from England. 
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and all 
the delegates signed it. On the 4th of July, 1776, the thirteen 
united colonies called themselves thirteen free states, — the United 
States of America. 

Men on horseback were sent with copies of the Declaration to 
all the new states. When the messenger reached New York the 
soldiers marched to The Fields, then called The Common. Wash¬ 
ington and his officers were on horseback. Such a vast number of 
people had gathered on and near The Common that it looked as if 
everybody in New York had come there to see Washington and to 
hear the Declara¬ 


tion of Independ¬ 
ence read. 

When the 
reader had finished 
the soldiers and 
people hurried 
away. Some 
rushed to the City 
Hall and tore down 
the picture of the 
king and destroyed 
it. Others rushed 
to Bowling Green, 
pulled down the leaden statue of the king, broke it, and sent the 
pieces away to be made into bullets for the United States army. The 
people tore down everything in sight with the picture of the king 


Suydam House 

Built by Leffert on Bushwick Lane, Brooklyn, about 1700; occupied 
by a company of Hessians in the Revolution 




178 


HOME GEOGBAPHY OF NEW YOBK CITY 


or the royal coat of arms on it. These things were broken and 
thrown into bonfires. The people did everything they could think 
of to show the joy they felt because King George III was no longer 
their ruler. 

Although the colonists had declared themselves free and inde¬ 
pendent, the mere declaration was not enough to make them so. 
King George would not recognize their independence and said that 
Congress had no right to speak for people he called his subjects. 

When the Declaration of Independence was adopted an English 
fleet was near New York harbor. The English commander was 
told to try to restore peace on the king’s terms. Lord Howe could 
offer pardon to all rebels who would lay down their arms, but he 
could not treat with any officer appointed by Congress nor recog¬ 
nize Congress in any way. He could not even refer to the troubles 
that caused the people to rebel against the English government. 
Lord Howe sent a letter to Washington addressed u George Wash¬ 
ington, Esq.” This address was not correct, as Washington was 
commander in chief of the American army. Washington refused 
to receive any letter from Lord Howe not properly addressed. 
However, he received Lord Howe’s messenger at No. 1 Broadway. 
This officer said that Lord Howe had the power to pardon all who 
would lay down their arms. Washington replied that the Ameri¬ 
cans could not accept pardons, as they had done nothing wrong; 
that they were defending what they considered their rights. As 
there was no one in authority to receive Lord Howe’s message, it 
was impossible to arrange a meeting between English and American 
representatives. Lord Howe then began his preparations for war. 


CHAPTER XXXVIII 

NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION 

What the Declaration of Independence meant to those who signed it. 

As the Americans had rebelled against their government, the war 
for independence was a civil war. The English considered every 
American officer and soldier a rebel. Do you know what is done 
to a rebel if he is caught? 

The statesmen who signed the Declaration would have lost 
money, property, and perhaps their lives if the Americans had 
been defeated. One of the statesmen when signing his name 
made a few remarks to those standing near him; he ended with 
the words, “We must hang together.” “Yes,” said the great 
Benjamin Franklin, “we must all hang together or else we shall 
all hang separately.” 

New York during the Seven Years’ War. When the war began 
the English decided to get control of New York state. Look at your 
map. Would it not take a very large and well-trained army to 
defend your city? The American army in New York was a volun¬ 
teer army; it was not large nor yet well trained. Congress ordered 
Washington to defend New York, so he was obliged to divide his 
army and do the best he could with it. 

Part of it was to defend Manhattan, part of it was sent to 
defend Brooklyn, and part of it was at Fort Lee. Washington 
hoped that the guns of Fort Lee and Fort Washington would pre¬ 
vent the English fleet passing Manhattan. The Americans also 

179 


180 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


used sunken ships and chains between Fort Lee and Manhattan to 
keep the English ships back. Washington did not have enough 
men to attempt to defend Staten Island. A large English army 

landed there, and a 
large English fleet 
anchored in the bay. 
The Black Horse Tav¬ 
ern, New Dorp, was 
the English general’s 
headquarters. 

The first New York 
battle of the war was 
fought in the borough 
of Brooklyn; part of 
the battleground is 
now Prospect Park. Washington was not present at that battle. 
The Americans were defeated and the English took some prisoners. 
That night Washington saved an army of nine thousand men by 
retreating across the East river to Manhattan. The English were 
building earthworks, and the night was dark and foggy. Wash¬ 
ington had secured enough boats to carry men, cannon, and all the 
army supplies across the river. 

Washington knew the English would follow to the city, but he 
did not know whether they would surround the island with their 
large fleet and try to capture the Americans, or whether they would 
try to drive them from the island. He hurried the army from the 
city to the northern part of Manhattan above 125th street and 
made the Jumel mansion his headquarters. 



Fort Fish, North End of Central Park 
Old blacksmith shop and Washington’s headquarters 




NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION 


181 


A few days later the English army landed on the island'. The 
general in command had his headquarters in a mansion at 51st 
street near the East river, and two other generals went to a man¬ 
sion at 91st street and 9th avenue. 1 The English army stretched 
in a line across the island between these two points. The English 
now had Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and the old city of New 
York. The Americans still had the northern part of Manhattan, 
The Bronx, and the New Jersey shores opposite. The American 
army was small. The English army was large, and they had a 
strong fleet of war ships. 

Washington was in a very difficult position. He wished to 
know what the English general intended to do next. In order 
to find out the enemy’s 
plans, it was necessary 
to send some one he 
could trust within their 
lines. Washington 
ordered one of his staff 
to call a meeting of the 
officers to explain the 
great danger facing 
the American army and 
to ask for a volunteer 
to undertake the task of acting as a spy. Only one man stepped for¬ 
ward ; he said, “ I will undertake it.” He was Captain Nathan Hale. 

1 Washington stayed at this mansion for a day or two when the army was going to 
Washington Heights. In that house were decided the plans that Nathan Hale was to follow. 
Many years later this property was known as Elm Park and was a popular place for picnics. 






182 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Nathan Hale 

Brave heart that beat for love and right, 

Brave soldier, Nathan Hale 1 

Nathan Hale was only twenty years old. He was a graduate of 
Yale College, a school teacher, and one of the first young men to 
enlist. His friends and brother officers 
begged him not to risk his life by acting 
as a spy. He said he considered it an 
honor to do anything to help his coun¬ 
trymen win the independence for which 
they were fighting. 

He decided to go to New York city 
dressed as a Dutch school teacher. His 
friends helped him to change his uni¬ 
form for a plain suit of brown citizen’s 
clothes and a round broad-brimmed hat. 
He put his college diploma in his pocket, 
and left everything else with an officer 
who was his most intimate friend. 

On the day before the battle of Har¬ 
lem Heights, Nathan Hale started from 
Washington Heights, then called Har¬ 
lem Heights, crossed the Harlem river, 
walked through The Bronx, and then 
farther on to Norwalk, Connecticut. 
He crossed the sound from Norwalk to 
Huntington, Long Island, walked through Queens and Brooklyn, 
and crossed the East river to New York. You see he did not go 












NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION 


183 


directly from Washington Heights downtown as you would do to-day 
because the British army was between Washington Heights and 
the city. 

He stayed in the city long enough to get the information he 
wished for, and was on his way back to the American lines when 
he was recognized and captured. He was taken to the general’s 
headquarters at 51st street, near the East river, and hanged the 
next morning about eleven o’clock without a trial. As they were 
preparing to hang him, some one said, “ What a death for an officer 
to die! ” “ Gentlemen,” said Captain Hale, “ any death is honorable 
when a man dies in a cause like this.” 

We do not know whether he ever sent Washington any infor¬ 
mation. We do not know exactly where he was captured. We do 
not know exactly where he was put to death, and we do not know 
where he was buried. But we do know that he was cruelly treated, 
died a sorrowful death, and that his last words were, “ I only regret 
that I have but one life to lose for my country.” 

On the afternoon of the day he died Washington and Hale’s 
brother officers heard of it. They were told that he had met death 
bravely, and also what his last words had been. 

My sole regret, that it is mine to give 

Only one life, that my dear land may live. 

Partridge. 

The Battle of Harlem Heights. The battle of Harlem Heights 
was fought the day after Nathan Hale started on his roundabout 
journey to reach the city. The land on which Columbia University 
now stands is a part of this battleground. The Americans were 
victorious and retired to their camp on Washington Heights, north 


184 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


of Manhattanville valley. The English army encamped on the 
heights, south of Manhattanville valley. 

Washington left some men at Fort Washington to defend 
Washington Heights. He then marched his army through The Bronx 
and into the country north of that borough. The Americans were 
defeated at Washington Heights, and the commanding officer at 

Fort Washington was 
compelled to surrender. 

New York city was 
the headquarters of the 
English army for seven 
years. The American 
soldiers captured in 
Brooklyn and Manhat¬ 
tan were placed in charge 
of the men who had put 
Nathan Hale to death. 
Prisoners captured in other places were sent here. There were 
not enough prisons in the city for so many men, so the City Hall, 
Columbia College, the churches, business houses, and some worth¬ 
less old ships were used as prisons. These ships were anchored 
in the East river. The most famous prison ship was the Jersey , 
anchored in Wallabout bay. All the prisons were filthy and over¬ 
crowded. The jailers were very cruel men. 

Sometimes the prisoners suffered from thirst and for want of 
food, and very often they were given water and food unfit for 
human beings. Thousands of American soldiers who died from the 
effects of the bad food and the filthy, overcrowded prisons were 



West Angle of Fort Washington 




NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION 


185 


buried in Trinity churchyard, and thousands were buried in Brooklyn, 
near the Navy Yard. The remains of those buried in the Navy 
Yard were removed to the Martyrs’ tomb in Fort Greene Park. 

Evacuation Day 

After peace was declared Washington intended to disband the 
army in New York and then to start for his home in Mount Vernon. 
In November, when the American army reached Harlem from differ¬ 
ent places north of Manhattan, the English were still in the city. 



Forts Fish and Clinton, Fortifications at 
McGowan’s Pass 


While waiting for the English to leave Manhattan, Washington 
remained at a tavern near the corner of 125th street and 8th ave¬ 
nue, and the army camped in the northern part of Central Park 
where Mount St. Vincent is now. That part of the park was then 
called McGowan’s Pass. 




186 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


On the morning of November 25th the English ships were ready 
and the English soldiers began to go on board. 

The American army marched down from Harlem to Union 
square. Here the citizens met Washington and his soldiers. To¬ 
gether they went down the Bowery into the city as far as Rector 
street. Two companies proceeded to the Battery to raise the Amer¬ 
ican flag on the fort. Imagine the disappointment and anger of the 
soldiers when they found that a trick had been played on them. 

The English soldiers had nailed the English flag to the top of 
the pole. They had greased the pole to keep the Americans from 

climbing up to tear 
the flag off. The 
English did not 
wish to see the 
American flag 
waving over New 
York city. They 
hoped they would 
get far away be¬ 
fore the English 
View at Fort Clinton, McGowan’s Pass, Central Park flagcouldbe pulled 

down. But they were disappointed, as they deserved to be. 

A young sailor named John Van Arsdale hastily secured some 
cleats and filled his pockets with them. He climbed the slippery 
pole step by step; first he hammered a cleat to the pole; then he 
stood on it; then he hammered another cleat to the pole, and stood 
on that; and he continued to hammer and climb until he reached 





NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION 187 

the top. He then tore away the English flag, threw it down to the 
American soldiers watching him, and put the American flag in its 
place. How he was cheered by those looking on! 

A salute of thirteen guns was fired while the English soldiers 
were near enough to the Battery to see the flag as well as to hear 
the American guns. For many, many years Evacuation Day was 
a public holiday. John Yan Arsdale, then his son, and afterwards 
his grandson, performed the ceremony of raising the flag on the 
pole in Battery Park on Evacuation Day. 

When the parade was over Washington went to the fashionable 
hotel of the city, Fraunces’ Tavern, on the corner of Broad and 
Pearl streets. It was built when New York was an English colony, 
and is one of the oldest landmarks in the city. Washington made 
it his headquarters. On the evening of Evacuation Day Governor 
George Clinton, the first governor of New York state, gave a dinner 
there in honor of the occasion. 

Washington remained but a few days in New York. On Decem¬ 
ber 4th he said farewell to his officers in the Long , Room of the 
tavern, and returned to his home in Virginia. 



New York South of Wall Street in Modern Times 


CHAPTER XXXIX 

HISTORIC SPOTS 

Battery Park 

Battery Park is made land. When New York was the home 
of the Indians there were rocks and water where now we have a 
pretty park. 

The Battery gets its name from a battery of guns that was set 
up there during English rule. In colonial times Battery Park was 
surrounded on the land side by the houses of wealthy people. It 
was the fashionable promenade of the people then and for many 
years afterward. 


188 








HISTORIC SPOTS 


189 


The New Custom House 

The new Custom House is built on the site of the old Dutch 
fort. The first church on Manhattan was built inside the fort. 
Within its walls were also 
houses for the governor, 
the minister, and soldiers, 
together with a windmill 
and one or two other build¬ 
ings. Governor Stuyvesant 
lived in the fort until his 
house on Whitehall street 
was built. 

The Aquarium 

Will it surprise you to 
learn that the Aquarium 
now near the sea wall of 
Battery Park was at one 
time a fort? It was built 
for the defense of the city, 
and stood on an island; a 
drawbridge connected the island with Manhattan. Later the fort 
was changed to a place of amusement, and named Castle Garden. 
For thirty-five years Castle Garden was used as an opera house 
and concert hall. Large public meetings and receptions were also 
held there. 


THE SITE OF FORT AMSTERDAM 
BUILT IN 1626. 

WITHIN THE FORTIFICATIONS 
WAS ERECTED THE FIRST 
SUBSTANTIAL CHURCH EDIFICE 
ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN 
IN 1787 THE FORT 
WAS DEMOLISHED 
AND THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE 
BUILT UPON THIS SITE. 

THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY 
THE HOLLAND SOCIETY 
OF NEW YORK. 
SEPTEMBER, 1890. 


Tablet on a Building torn down to make 
Room for the New Custom House 



190 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


When places of amusement were built farther uptown Castle 
Garden was used as the New York state immigrant depot. It was 
the landing place for the immigrants until the United States took 
charge of immigration and established the new depot on Ellis island. 



Battery and Castle Garden in Olden Times 


The old historic Castle Garden, a fort, a place of amusement, 
a landing place for immigrants, was then remodeled. It is now one 
of the finest aquariums in the world, where boys and girls can go 
and learn about the wonders of sea life. 

Bowling Green 

The southern part of the borough of Manhattan is the richest 
business section of the world. Do you think a stranger, walking 
around that part of the city, admiring the tall and attractive build¬ 
ings, would be apt to notice our smallest park ? I think not. 
Bowling Green is the most historic spot in New York to-day, and 








191 


Old-Time View of Bowling Green, Broadway 
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































192 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


every New York boy and girl should be able to tell visitors some¬ 
thing about its history. 

Let us stand near this little park a moment and recall the time 
when the Dutch traders landed on the island. How beautiful this 
place must have been then! Standing in this field we admire the 
pretty flowers and the beautiful trees. We watch the traders and 
the Indians, and wonder how they can buy and sell when they do 
not understand each other’s language. How wonderful to think 
that this fur trading was the beginning of our great commerce with 
the world! 

In a few years a settlement grew up around The Plaine, as it 
was called. On the south could be seen Fort Amsterdam and the 
roofs of the buildings inside; to the north, the top of the high city 
wall could be seen through the trees. The Plaine was a parade 
ground for the soldiers, a bowling green for the fathers, a play¬ 
ground for the children, a market place for the farmers, and the 
fair grounds for cattle shows. 

In the old fort near by Governor Stuyvesant surrendered to the 
English; some days later we might have seen the Dutch soldiers 
going aboard their ships to return to Europe. 

The days of Dutch rule are over, and an English governor now 
lives in the fort. English soldiers are parading on The Plaine, and 
we are now an English colony. Some citizens have leased The Plaine 
from the city for a bowling green. The Plaine is no longer an open 
field, but is fenced in as a park, and is called Bowling Green. 

In colonial times our little park was much larger and could 
boast of some fine shade trees and pretty walks. On the streets 
around the park were the handsome homes of wealthy people. On 


HISTORIC SPOTS 


193 


Sundays people passed Bowling Green on their way to church in 
the fort. There are people living in New York to-day whose ances¬ 
tors went to that old church. Bowling Green was the only park in 
the city. It was a very important little place when the Aquarium 
was a fort on an island and the rocky bed of most of Battery Park 
was covered by water. 

It had been a peaceful and restful place for many years. 
Then came the troublous times of 1765. Bowling Green again 
becomes the scene of an historic picture. On a certain day in this 
year we find the English governor and his soldiers shutting them¬ 
selves up in the fort south of Bowling Green. We see an excited 
people gathering at Bowling Green, anxious to get at the stamps 
shut up in the fort. 

Five years later the scene was again one j}f peace and har¬ 
mony. A statue of King George was erected on Bowling Green by 
the people. It must have delighted all the boys and girls to have 
seen the governor and his staff and the English soldiers march out 
of the fort and around the park. Do you think you can see them 
stand in fine order while famous men are making speeches on the 
platform near the statue ? 

Now passes another scene of excitement! The Declaration of 
Independence had just been read to the people on The Common. 
See how they rush down to Bowling Green! Let us watch them! 
They tear down the railing around the green, and pull down the 
statue of King George that had been erected by them only six 
years before. They were angry at the king and at England. 

And so we can go on naming many historic events that the 
sight of Bowling Green brings to our minds. When Washington 


194 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



was President he lived near it. At this time the walls of the old 
Dutch fort had been torn down, and Washington and other famous 
men often walked around the park and along the old shore line 

enjoying the beauties of our harbor 
just as we do to-day. 

From Bowling Green one could 
have seen changes of another kind. 
When the Indians lived here one 
could see the graceful canoe gliding 
up to our shores, then the first big 
ship of the white man sailing up 
the bay, and later the great ocean 
greyhounds as they sped by to their 
docks and piers. 

As Bowling Green saw the In¬ 
dians who built the primitive canoe, 
so it saw the great white men who 
made it possible to cross the ocean 
by steam power. It saw the savage 
Indian and it saw Fulton and Erics¬ 
son. Within a short walk, on one 
side of it, is the grave of Fulton, the inventor of steamships, and 
within a short walk, on the other side, is the statue of Ericsson, 
the inventor of the screw propeller. 

During all these changes in the ways of travel this little plot of 
ground has always been what it is to-day, — an open space. 




STORIES OF NEW YORK, AN AMERICAN CITY 


CHAPTER XL 

WHEN WASHINGTON LIVED IN NEW YORK 

The city of New York was the first capital of the state and 
also the first capital of the United States. When Washington 
was elected President he came here to live. After a long journey 
from his home in Mount Vernon, he landed at the foot of Wall 
street. There the gov¬ 
ernor and officers of the 
Revolutionary War met 
him. He refused to ride 
in a carriage, but walked 
to his new home at No. 1 
Cherry street, corner of 
Pearl. One of the piers of 
the Brooklyn bridge stands 
on the site of this house. 

Washington took the oath of office as first President of the 
United States in City Hall. It had been enlarged and had been named 
Federal Hall. Federal Hall stood on the site of the Sub-Treasury in 
Wall street. When the ceremonies in Federal Hall were over Wash¬ 
ington and all those present at the inauguration formed a procession 
and walked to St. Paul’s chapel, to attend a special service. 

195 










196 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


Washington lived in Cherry street but a few months. His 
second home in New York was at No. 39 Broadway. In this house 
Washington entertained the government officials and his friends. 
Washington liked the Dutch custom of calling on New Year’s Day. 
While he lived here he celebrated this day in the good old Dutch 



Inauguration of Washington 


fashion. There was a theater in John street then. Washington used 
to go to the theater and often invited friends to his private box. 

When New York became the capital of the United States the 
city had grown northward as far as Reade street on the west side, 
and Grand or Catharine street on the east side. North of these 
limits were farms and country homes. 

Bouwerie village, which extended from 2d street to 16th street, 
was a real country village, and a country road led through farms 
all the way to Harlem. Collect pond was still a favorite place 
for fishing and skating. There were many open fields in the 




197 



































198 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


city where the children could play outdoor games in summer and 
make sliding ponds in winter. Boys did not need to go miles away 
from their homes to find a ball field in those days. 

The east side of Manhattan grew more quickly than the west 
side and was of more importance in Washington’s time; but there 

were bouweries and villages 
on the west side also. The 
most important west-side 
villages were Greenwich, 
Chelsea, and Bloomingdale. 

Greenwich village ex¬ 
tended along the Hudson 
river from about Charlton 
street to 14th street. Before 
the fighting began in 1776 Washington had his headquarters in 
Greenwich village. He was living there when he became interested 
in Hamilton. Chelsea village extended from about 19th street to 
24th street. Bloomingdale village extended along Broadway from 
about 66th street to 90th street. These boundaries are not exact. 
You may learn the exact boundaries when you are older. 

Greenwich was once an Indian village, then a Dutch farm, then 
an English settlement two miles from the city. For all these reasons 
we take a great deal of interest in Greenwich village. It is now 
only a very small part of a very large city. Abingdon square and 
Jefferson market are in Greenwich village. 





CHAPTER XLI 


ALEXANDER HAMILTON 


The First Secretary of the Treasury 

After the Stamp Act had been passed men gradually formed 
into two political parties : those who sided with England were 
called Tories; those who were against England were called Whigs. 
After the war was over men 
were obliged to establish a 
new government for the 
United States. This caused 
a great deal of public discus¬ 
sion. There were many dif¬ 
ferent opinions about many 
things, so two parties were 
formed. They were not the 
same as the old political 
parties. 

Alexander Hamilton was 
the leader of the party called 
the Federalists. Washington 
did not belong to either of the 
new parties. He asked gentlemen of both parties to become mem¬ 
bers of his Cabinet. Alexander Hamilton became his Secretary of. 
the Treasury. 



Alexander Hamilton 


200 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies. 
There were no good schools on his island home, so his friends sent 
him to New York. When he reached New York he wished to 
enter King’s College. He studied very hard, and at the end of one 
year he was admitted and soon became famous among the boys 
for his fine speeches. 

Hamilton, though only a boy, was a good Tory when he came 
here, but he soon became a Whig. When only seventeen years old 
he made a remarkable patriotic speech at one of the public meetings 

held on The Common. Many men 
were surprised to hear a boy of 
his age make such a speech. 
They shook hands with him and 
said he would be a great man 
some day. 

When the war began Hamil¬ 
ton joined the army and was soon 
made captain of an artillery com¬ 
pany. He devoted much time to 
drilling his soldiers. He was then 
only nineteen years old and he looked much younger. Washington 
saw him drilling his company and became interested in him. A short 
time after our army retreated from New York he made him his aid- 
de-camp and private secretary. He was now Colonel Hamilton and 
only twenty years of age. When the war was over Hamilton became 
a lawyer. He lived in Albany a short time and later in New York. 

When Washington became President we had a large war debt, 
the soldiers had not been paid, and people would not lend us money. 



Old-Time View in Exchange Place 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON 


201 


The long war had made both business men and farmers poor. It 
was Hamilton’s duty to find some way to raise money to pay our 
debts and to pay the expenses of the government. Hamilton’s plans 
to raise money were successful. He had great natural ability. He 
gave all his time, thought, and energy to his work, and became a 
great statesman. 

When he retired from the Cabinet he practiced law in New 
York. He bought a small country estate on Washington Heights 
and built there the house we now call Hamilton Grange at 141st 
street and Convent avenue. His estate extended from 140th street 
to 145th street, and from Amsterdam avenue to St. Nicholas avenue. 

For many years Hamilton and Aaron Burr had been political 
rivals. On July 11, 1804, they fought a duel in Weehawken. 
Hamilton was wounded and died the next day. He was buried 
in Trinity churchyard, where you can now see his tomb. 



Robert Fulton 


CHAPTER XLII 

ROBERT FULTON 

The City Prison at Centre and Leonard streets stands on the 
site of Collect pond. This pond was quite deep and extended over 
several of our city blocks. Collect pond had two outlets, — one 
emptying into the Hudson river, and the other emptying into the 
East river. The pond was there for more than two hundred years 
after the first Dutch traders landed on Manhattan. In later years 

a canal was dug from Collect pond to the Hudson river. This canal 

202 


ROBERT FULTON 


203 


was afterward filled in, and is now known as Canal street. The 
outlet to the East river was also filled in. 

The first steamboat in New York was built on the shores of 
Collect pond in 1796. The inventor was John Fitch, a soldier of 
the Revolution. He was poor, and being unable to obtain financial 
help could not make a success of his invention. 

Robert Fulton was a more fortunate inventor. A rich New 
York gentleman was interested in his inventions and they became 
partners. Fulton built the first steamboat that was of practical use 
for freight and passengers. It was built in Manhattan, and he 
named it The Clermont. On the morning of August 11, 1807, The 
Clermont started on her trial trip up the Hudson river to Albany. 
The trip was successful, and steamboats replaced the old sailing 
vessels where greater speed was necessary. 



Fulton’s Ferryboat, “ Olive Branch ** 
Built in 1836 










CHAPTER XLIII 


SAMUEL F. B. MORSE 


The Inventor of the Electric Telegraph 

Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph, began 
life as an artist. He was a professor in the New York University 
on Washington square. The University is now in The Bronx, but 

a part of the building on the site of 
the old university is used for lecture 
purposes still. 

While teaching in the University 
Morse invented the electric telegraph. 
He and another professor were partners, 
but neither had the money necessary 
to carry out Morse’s ideas. One day 
a student named Alfred Vail happened 
to enter the professors’ room when they 
were showing their machine to some 
gentlemen. Young Vail was the son of 
a wealthy mill owner and had worked 
in his father’s shop. He was a good mechanic and soon under¬ 
stood the value of the new invention, — the first electric telegraph 
in the world. 

He proposed to get the money necessary for the success of the 
wonderful invention if Professor Morse would agree to make him 

204 



Samuel F. B. Morse 



205 


City Hall and Site of Post Office 








































206 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


a partner. Morse agreed, and the young man’s father gave them 
the money they needed, and a room in his workshop was set apart 
for their use. Many inventions and many new mechanical devices 

were necessary in order to build the 
first successful telegraph line from 
Washington to Baltimore. In 1844 
the line was completed. The first 
message that passed over the wires 
was “What hath God wrought.” 
The Morse alphabet is still in use. 

Morse’s residence was in Man¬ 
hattan, at No. 5 West 22d street. 
He left money to the New York 
University for an annual medal of 
scholarship. There is a bronze 
statue of Morse in Central Park. 
He was present at the unveiling 
Morse’s First Telegraph of his statue in 1871, as an honored 

Instrument guest, and was then eighty years 

old. On that day he sent the following message: 



Greeting and thanks to the telegraph fraternity throughout the world. Glory to 
God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to men. — S. F. B. Morse. 































CHAPTER XLIV 


PETER COOPER 

The Founder of Cooper Union 

Who gives himself with his alms, feeds three, 
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me. 


During his life Peter Cooper 
men, women, and children of all 
any other citizen of New York has 
ever been. When he drove around 
the busiest and most crowded 
parts of New York wagons and 
carriages were turned aside to 
make room for the plain, old- 
fashioned carriage of the man 
who was the first citizen of our 
city in the hearts of the people. 

Why was Peter Cooper loved, 
honored, and respected by all 
classes ? Because he loved his fel¬ 
low-men and helped them in every 
way he could to improve their con¬ 
dition. Because he was a good 
man, an honest man, an unselfish 
man, and a patriotic citizen. 


was known to a large number of 
classes, and was loved more than 



Peter Cooper 


207 







208 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


Peter Cooper was born in Water street when Washington was 
President of the United States. The fashionable part of the city 
was then near the Battery. North of Chambers street there were 
farms and country homes. 

Ways of Living. The people in those days wore clothes made 
of homespun. Wood fires were used for cooking and for heating 

the houses. Matches had 
not been invented; flint 
and steel and the tinder 
box were used to start a 
fire. People knew noth¬ 
ing of the use of kerosene 
oil, and lamps in which it 
could be burned had not 
been invented. 

Candles were used for 
light. Many families burned them only on Sundays, holidays, and 
when they had company. They saved the pine knots to burn on 
other nights for light as well as for heat. When some of our great 
men were boys they studied their lessons by the light of pine knots 
because their parents could not afford to burn candles. 

During Peter Cooper’s life he saw great changes in the way of 
living. He saw kerosene-oil lamps take the place of candles, and 
gaslight replace the lamps. When men found out how to use hard 
coal for fuel he saw grates, stoves, and furnaces introduced. Peter 
Cooper saw coal used for cooking and heating instead of wood, 
and, in later years, in heating houses he saw steam heaters take 
the place of stoves. 



Chatham Square (1812) 






PETER COOPER 


209 


When Peter Cooper was a young man the people of Manhattan 
depended on springs and wells for the city’s water supply. The city 
was guarded by watchmen. Each watchman served four hours every 
night. The hours for “ the watch ” were from nine o’clock until 
dawn. The protection against fire was also primitive. When the fire 
bell rang people hurried to the fire and formed a bucket brigade. 
This brigade stretched from a pump 
or well to a small fire engine. These 
engines were a kind of force pump, 
and were drawn by hand. While the 
bucket brigade passed the water to 
the tank other men worked the han¬ 
dle of the pump, and so a stream of 
water was thrown on the burning 
house. 

Peter Cooper not only lived to 
see the beginning of our Croton 
water supply, our police force, and 
our fire department, but as an aider- 
man, or as a member of a committee, 
he helped to form these departments. 

He was also a trustee of the Free 
School Society and later a member 
of the Board of Education. He was 
very much interested in education, 
and visited the public schools, the College of the City of New York, 
and the Normal College very frequently. Thus the school children 
and college students of New York learned to know and love him. 



No. 7 Cherry Street 
First New York house lighted with gas 





210 


HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 


Words of Peter Cooper. “ While I have always recognized that 
the object of business is to make money in an honorable manner, I 
have endeavored to remember that the object of life is to do good.” 



The Ways of earning a Living. In Peter Cooper’s long life he 
saw great changes in the ways of earning a living. When he was 
a boy men worked in small shops. Many articles were also made 

in the home, and all the fam¬ 
ily, even the younger children, 
did a share of the work. 

Before Peter Cooper was 
fifty years of age many im¬ 
provements had been made in 
the steam engine, and ma¬ 
chines had been invented for 
doing many different kinds 
of work. In many industries 
steam power took the place 
of hand power, horse power, and water power. When steam power 
was used to run many of the new machines great changes took 
place in the ways of earning a living. Men built mills and fac¬ 
tories, put new machinery in them, and hired people to work there. 
So work was gradually taken out of the home and the old-fashioned 
shop and was done in factories. 

Many other changes took place in the business world. Parts of our 
city became business centers. People moved farther and farther away 
from these business centers, and men began to think of some way of 
reaching business quicker than on foot, in a stage, or in a horse car. 


Old Houses at Junction of Marion 
and Elm Streets (1861) 

Going to a fire in old times 






PETER COOPER 


211 


The invention of the steamboat and the locomotive and the 
building of railroads gave them rapid transit. The steamboat, the 
railroad, and the invention of the electric telegraph made great 
changes in the ways of travel, the ways of living, and the ways of 
earning a living. Peter Cooper not only saw all these changes but 
helped to make a success of many of the new undertakings. 

To whom does the coal mining and the use of coal give employ¬ 
ment? To whom does the steam engine give employment? the 
steamboat ? the railroads ? the electric telegraph ? To whom does 
the use of lamps give em¬ 
ployment ? the use of gas ? 
the use of the sewing ma¬ 
chine? What is made in 
mills ? in factories ? How 
can boys and girls earn 
a living by means of these 
inventions? Tell of some 
other ways of earning a 
living in New York. 

How Peter Cooper helped to make a Success of Many Inventions. 
It would be impossible in this short story to tell all that the chil¬ 
dren would like to know about Peter Coopers inventions, and how 
much he helped other inventors. As a boy he was thoughtful and 
kind to his mother. He made a washing machine and other labor- 
saving machines for her. He also made a toy wagon and sold it 
for six dollars. He took an old shoe apart, learned how it was 
put together, and succeeded in making good shoes and slippers 
for all the family. 



Old Houses, Corner Pearl and Elm Streets 







212 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


When learning his trade as a carriage builder he invented sev¬ 
eral little machines useful in his trade. Before he was twenty-five 
years old he made some money by an invention, and soon owned 
his own home and a small factory. He invented a number of 
machines for his factory and his home. One invention would 
rock the baby’s cradle and fan away the flies. He sold the patent 
to a Yankee peddler for a horse and wagon and the peddler’s stock. 

Peter Cooper was 
never idle and he never 
wasted time. When not 
working he was read¬ 
ing, studying, or .plan¬ 
ning inventions. He 
became a rich man and 
owned iron mines, mills, 
and factories. He im¬ 
proved old machinery 
and invented new 
machinery. He also helped others to make a success of their inven¬ 
tions by investing money in their undertakings and by giving them 
good advice. 

Cooper Union. When Peter Cooper planned Cooper Union no one 
had ever heard of iron beams such as are now used in buildings. 
Wooden beams were used. As Peter Cooper wished to make Cooper 
Union as nearly fireproof as possible, he decided that iron beams 
should take the place of wooden ones. He found that the kind of 
iron beams that he was looking for were not made. He then had 
new machinery built to make beams according to his ideas. When 





PETEK COOPEK 


213 



you see men working on our sky-scrapers and our new bridges, do 
not forget that it was Peter Cooper who made the first iron beams 
used in building. 

The Tom Thumb, the First American Locomotive. The locomotive 
was invented in England. The first railroad company in the United 


Bible House, Cooper Union, and Tompkins Market 

States built a railroad in Baltimore and expected to use one of the 
new locomotives on it. Peter Cooper was interested in this railroad 
because he owned some land near it. English engineers said that 
no locomotive could be used on the new railroad on account of a 
very sharp curve. Peter Cooper went over the road. He examined 








214 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 



Old-Time Locomotive 


it, and then said: “ I do not agree with the English engineers 
that no locomotive can be used on this railroad. I believe them 
when they say no English locomotive can go around that curve; 
but I am sure I can knock together a locomotive that will 
get a train around that curve.” 

Peter Cooper hurried to New York for a little brass engine 
he had, took it back with him to 
Baltimore, and made a locomotive 
in a coachmaker’s shop. The boiler 
of the engine was not as large as 
the boiler attached to your mother’s 
kitchen range. He could not get 
any iron pipes the size he needed, so he used the barrels of old 
guns for tubing. The locomotive was so small that he called it the 
Tom Thumb. The Tom Thumb was not intended for use. It was 
made only to show the people who owned the railroad that a loco¬ 
motive such as they needed could be made. 

When the Tom Thumb was ready it was attached to a horse 
car. There were thirty people in the car, and six people rode on 
the locomotive. The Tom 
Thumb did what was ex¬ 
pected of it. It pulled the 
car around the short curve. 

Everybody in Baltimore 
was interested in the Tom 
Thumb, and for several weeks it was used to make trips. One day 
there was a race between the engine and a famous gray horse. The 
horse drew a car on one track and the Tom Thumb drew a car on 



Modern Locomotive 





















PETER COOPER 


215 


the other. The Tom Thumb was ahead, when something got out of 
order; this caused a delay, and the horse won the race. 

The New Western Trade Route to China and Japan. America was 
discovered because the sea captains and merchants of Europe were 
trying to find a new trade route to China and Japan. New York 
was discovered because Henry Hudson came here looking for the 
. new trade route that was talked about so much. Europeans thought 
there was a water way 
across our continent, 
and that this water 
way would give them 
a western trade route 
to China and Japan. 

As years went by 
explorers found that 
our country was a very 
large place, and that 
there was no water way 
between the Atlantic ocean and the Pacific. When they learned this 
truth they gave up all hope of ever finding a shorter western trade 
route to Asia and continued to use the old trade routes. When 
railroads were built many new trade routes were planned. At 
first only English locomotives were used. 

The experiment with the Tom Thumb encouraged American 
inventors. They saw that this little locomotive was the proper 
kind for American railroads, and they went to work. The result 
was that in a few years good American locomotives were built, and 
we soon had railroads in many parts of our country. American 





216 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OE HEW YORK CITY 


locomotives can go around shorter curves than English locomotives. 
It required many years of hard work to build a railroad across 
the United States from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific. When 
this railroad was completed the new western trade route was ready 
for business. Since then tea and Chinese and Japanese goods are 
shipped from China and Japan to San Francisco, loaded on cars, 
and brought to New York. American goods are shipped to those 
countries from San Francisco. Thus we are now using the long- 
looked-for western trade route to Asia. 

The new western trade route is no longer a dream. It is a trade 
route in daily use, but it took nearly four hundred years to make 
the dream a reality. It cost many lives and millions of dollars, and 
many wonderful inventions were necessary before it was completed. 
The little Tom Thumb can claim some of the honor of helping in 
this wonderful work. 

The Atlantic Cable. After men became accustomed to the con¬ 
venience of steamboats, railroads, and the electric telegraph they 
wished for something else to help them in business. People could 
cross the Atlantic ocean in a steamboat. They could travel miles 
and miles in our country on the railroad. Business men could send 
telegrams to the business centers in the United States, but they 
had still to depend on letters and steamboats in doing business 
with Europe. 

Cyrus W. Field and Peter Cooper began to think of some way 
of sending telegraph messages to Europe. These messages could be 
sent only along wires laid under water. A great many new inven¬ 
tions were necessary before men succeeded in laying a successful 
cable across the Atlantic ocean. They called the wire ropes they 


PETER COOPER 


217 



used cables, and the messages they sent were called cablegrams. 
The first Atlantic cable was laid between Ireland and America. 

Mr. Cooper helped Mr. Field to make a success of his undertak¬ 
ing by investing money in the company, and by his friendly help 


Section of Atlantic Cable carried by Adams & Company’s 
Express Wagon 

and advice. When the Atlantic cable proved to be a success, and 
men in Europe and America could send messages across the ocean, 
many people of those days thought nothing more wonderful could 
ever be invented. 

A Model Citizen. Peter Cooper was a model citizen. He served 
his city as an alderman, as a member of many important committees, 
as a trustee of the Public School Society, and as a commissioner of 











218 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


the Board of Education. He gave money for patriotic purposes, 
and he founded Cooper Union. He was a successful man, but, 
above all, he was a good man. We shall finish our story with a 
quotation from a speech he made at a reception given in honor 
of his eighty-third birthday: 

“If our lives be such that we shall one day receive the glad 
welcome of ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ we shall then 
know that we have not lived in vain. ...” 



Old Hall of Board of Education 



APPENDIX 


THE MOST IMPORTANT SETTLEMENTS IN DUTCH NEW YORK 

1613-1664 

BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN 

Butch Settlements English Settlements 

1613 New Amsterdam. 

1641 Harlem. 


BOROUGH OF THE BRONX 


1639 Jonas Bronck bought the land be¬ 
tween the Harlem and Bronx 
rivers from the Indians. He 
built a house, a mill, and an out¬ 
post for New Amsterdam. His 
house was in Old Morrisania. 

1646 Adrian Yan der Donck bought land 
from the Indians on the west side of 
The Bronx, north of Spuyten Duy- 
vil creek. The people called him 
“Jonkheer,” which means “young 
lord.” His house and land were 
called “ de Jonkheer’s landt.” 
Cross out “ de ” and “ landt,” and 
you have “Jonkheer’s,” afterward 
pronounced and spelled Yonkers. 


1642 Throgs Neck. 

1642 Pelham Manor and that part of The 
Bronx now known as Pelham 
Bay Park. The Dutch claimed 
all this land and objected to the 
English settlers, but the English 
settlers remained, and their names 
were afterward given to these 
places. 


219 


220 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN 

Dutch Settlements English Settlements 

1623 Brooklyn settled at Wallabout bay, 1645 Gravesend settled, 
where the United States Navy 
Yard is now. 

1636 Flatlands settled. At first called 
New Amersfoot. This is consid¬ 
ered the first permanent settle¬ 
ment on Long Island. 

1651 Flatbush. Dutch name was Mid- 
wout. 

1657 New Utrecht. 

1660 Bushwick. Dutch name was Bos- 
wyck. 

When Stuyvesant was governor these 
were called the five Dutch towns. 


BOROUGH OF QUEENS 


The Dutch were the first Europeans 
to occupy any part of Long Island. 
There were Dutch settlers living in 
the English settlements. 


1644 Hempstead. Part of Hempstead be* 

longs to Nassau county. 

1645 Flushing. Dutch name was Vliss- 

engen. 

1655 Newtown. Dutch name was Mid- 

dleburg. 

1656 Jamaica. Dutch name was Rustdorp. 


BOROUGH OF RICHMOND 

1630 In 1630 a rich Dutch merchant bought Staten Island, the land now known as 
Jersey City and Hoboken, and also many miles more of the New Jersey shore 
opposite Manhattan. His colony was a failure, and he sold his land. Pavonia 
ferry and Communipaw were named for the first owner of these places. 

1636 In 1636 a block house, which was also a signal station, was built on the site of 
Fort Wadsworth. There were huts near this fort for officials and soldiers. 
Fort Wadsworth stands on the site of the first Dutch trading post built on 
Staten Island. 


APPENDIX 


221 


1638 In 1638 some settlers built houses a little northwest of Fort Wadsworth. They 
called the settlement Oude Dorp, or Old Town. Oude Dorp was destroyed by 
1651 the Indians. In 1651 there was a “ plantation ” near Clifton. Some writers say 
that there were Dutch settlers living on the Stapleton Flats. The earliest Dutch 
settlements were all on the shore near The Narrows, within a short distance of 
1655 the block house, and convenient to the Brooklyn shore opposite. In 1655 there 

1658 were eleven “bouweries” on Staten Island. In 1658 a settlement was made 

south of The Narrows at Stony Brook, now included in New Dorp. 

During Dutch rule Staten Island was bought and sold several times. The 
Indians were troublesome, and the settlements on the island were very small. 
Very few of the Dutch colonists cared to go so far from Fort Amsterdam. The 
majority preferred to live in the settlements of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and 
Queens. No event of historical importance took place on Staten Island in 
Dutch colonial times. While Stuyvesant was governor there were not enough 
settlers on Staten Island to pay the salary of a minister or a teacher. A min¬ 
ister from New Amsterdam went there every two months to preach. 

STATEN ISLAND AS AN ENGLISH COLONY 

An English governor bought Staten Island from the Indians because they said 
the Dutch had not paid them enough for it. This purchase settled the disputes 
with the Indians about the ownership of the island. The settlements increased, 
1700 and in 1700 there were more than two hundred families living in the present 
borough of Richmond. 

1670 In 1670 the first church on Staten Island was built at Stony Brook south of The 
Narrows. 

1776 In 1776, when the English decided to attack New York, a large English army 
landed on Staten Island. The Black Horse Tavern in New Dorp was the head- 
1783 quarters of the English general. On Evacuation Day the English army went 
from Manhattan to Staten Island and remained there for one week. 


222 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF HEW YORK CITY 


IMPORTANT DATES AND PLACES OF INTEREST IN NEW 
AMSTERDAM —A DUTCH CITY 


1613 Nos. 39 and 41 Broadway. 


1623 

1626 New Custom House. 


Bowling Green. 


Wall street. 

1633 Stone street (the first 
street to be paved 
with stone). 

1633 Collegiate School, 

77 th street, near 
West End avenue, 
Manhattan. 

1642 No. 73 Pearl street, at the 
head of Coenties Slip. 

1652 


Stuyvesant’s tomb. 

A Stuyvesant memorial. 


Site of first houses built and occupied by white men 
on Manhattan. 1 

From 1613 to 1623 there was a trading post only on 
the southern end of island. 

Permanent settlers arrived in New Amsterdam. 

Site of Fort Amsterdam, site of the first church on 
Manhattan, called the Church of St. Nicholas, and 
the site of the first governor’s house on Manhattan. 

Then an open field and the site of the early fur trad¬ 
ing. It was also a parade ground for soldiers, a 
general meeting place for the people, and the place 
where the cattle fairs were held. It was called 
The Plaine. 

A walled street, and the northern limit of New 
Amsterdam. 

The home of Adam Roelantsen, the first New York 
schoolmaster, was in this street. The first school in 
New Amsterdam was taught in Roelantsen’s house. 

First New York school. 


Site of Stone Tavern. It became the Stadt Huys, or 
the first City Hall, in 1653. 

First Dutch public school opened in the Stadt Huys, 
when it was called the Stone Tavern. 

St. Mark’s church, 2d avenue and 10th street. The 
vault is beneath the church. 

The Stuyvesant High School, named in honor of Peter 
Stuyvesant. It is on 15th street, near Stuyvesant 
square. The land on which it stands was part of 
Peter Stuyvesant’s “ Bouwerie.” 


1 Let the teacher explain that our local authorities disagree about the exact location of some 
historic sites. 


APPENDIX 


223 


Do you live in a Dutch settlement ? If not, where is the nearest Dutch settle¬ 
ment in your borough? Do you know of any historic places near your school? 
Is your school near any church or school built in Dutch colonial times ? 


IMPORTANT DATES AND PLACES OE INTEREST IN NEW 
YORK —AN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN CITY 

1693 No. 81 Pearl street. Site of first printing office in New York. 

1696 Trinity church. Site of first English church in New York. 

1725 Cotton Exchange. Site of first newspaper office in New York. 

1754 King’s College grounds, Block bounded by West Broadway, Barclay, Church, 
which then sloped down and Murray streets. Tablet at West Broadway and 


to the river bank. 
1754 Columbia University. 


Sub-Treasury, corner 
Wall and Broad streets 

1765 Wall and Broad streets. 

1765 (Nos. 9 and 11 Broadway 
^ or 

[No. 115 Broadway. 
Bowling Green. 


1765 

1775 


Murray street. 

First New York college. College grounds a part of 
Harlem Heights battlefield. 

Site of English City Hall, and first New York library. 
Freedom of the press established by Zenger’s trial 
in the court room of the City Hall. 

Stamp Act stamps locked up in the City Hall, in charge 
of the city officials, so that they could not be used. 
Site of the coffeehouse where New York merchants 
met and decided not to buy or use anything that came 
from England until the Stamp Act was repealed. 
Oldest New York park —site of bowling games. First 
regular mail carrier in the English colonies started 
on his journey from the Government House near 
Bowling Green. 

Scene of Stamp Act excitement and of the destruction 
of the statue of King George III. Some pieces of 
this statue may be seen in the rooms of the New 
York Historical Society. 

Battle of Golden Hill — first bloodshed in American 
Revolution. 

Site of Liberty Pole. 

Scene of the mass meeting to protest against the 
The Common (second name). Stamp Act. Other public meetings were held on 
City Hall Park (third name). The Common before the Revolution. 


Bowling Green. 
Bowling Green. 


1770 Corner of John and 
William streets. 

1770 Post Office. 

The Fields (first name) 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


224 


Do you live in an English settlement ? If not, what old English settlement is 
nearest your school ? Do you know of any place of historic interest near your 
school? Is your school near any church or school built in English colonial times ? 
Do you know of any old post road in your borough ? 


1776 The Common, now 
City Hall Park. 

In the City Hall Park. 


The City Hall. 
Completed in 1812. 
Contains memorials 
every child should see. 
1776 Fort Washington. 


1776 Fort George. 


Declaration of Independence read near west wing of 
City Hall. 

Statue of Nathan Hale, student, teacher, soldier, hero, 
patriot. The statue does not mark a particular site. 
Authorities do not agree as to the place where Hale 
was executed. 

Painting of Stuyvesant. A picture of the famous pear 
tree and a section of it. Some furniture used in Fed¬ 
eral Hall,—the second City Hall. Washington’s 
portrait and desk. Hamilton’s portrait. 

The place now called Fort Washington is the site of 
one of the forts that was built across the island by 
the Americans in 1776. At Fort Washington the 
Americans were obliged to surrender to the Eng¬ 
lish. The fort extended from 175th street to 178th 
and overlooked the Hudson river. Some say the 
fort extended from 181st street to 183d. The Fort 
Washington tablet is at 183d street and Fort Wash¬ 
ington avenue. When the Americans built Fort 
Washington and Fort Lee on the New Jersey shore 
opposite, they thought they could prevent British 
ships sailing up the Hudson river. 

At 183d street and Amsterdam avenue was Fort 
George, another of the line of forts that was built 
across the island from the Hudson to the Harlem 
rivers in 1776 to defend Washington Heights. 
Fort George overlooks the Harlem river. 


Is there any old fort near your school ? Is there any old building near your 
school that was used by the English or American soldiers during the war ? 


APPENDIX 


225 


IMPORTANT DATES AND PLACES OF INTEREST ASSOCIATED 

WITH WASHINGTON 


1776 Greenwich village 

The Common, 
now 

City Hall Park. 
No. 1 Broadway. 


Juinel mansion, 
Edgecombe avenue 
and 160th street. 

1783 125th street, near 
8th avenue. 

1783 Fraunces’ Tavern, 

corner of Broad and 
Pearl streets. 

1783 Battery Park. 

1783 Foot of Wall street. 


( Pier of Brooklyn bridge, 
\ No. 1 Cherry street. 
Sub-Treasury. 

St. Paul’s chapel. 

No. 39 Broadway. 


Washington lived in Greenwich village before the 
battle of Long Island was fought. 

In this park the Declaration of Independence was read 
in the presence of Washington and his officers, sol¬ 
diers, and a great multitude of people. 

Site of the headquarters of some of Washington’s 
officers when the Declaration of Independence was 
read on The Common. In colonial times there was 
a garden in the rear of this house. It extended 
to the Hudson river. The river shore was then on 
Greenwich street. 

Washington’s headquarters when the battle of Harlem 
Heights was fought, and when Nathan Hale was 
put to death. 

Site of the tavern where Washington remained while 
waiting for the English army to leave the city. 

Washington remained in this tavern for a few days in 
1783. When he left the city to return to his home 
he said farewell to his officers in the Long Room. 

The scene of young Van Arsdale’s patriotic act on 
Evacuation Day. 

Murray’s wharf, where President Washington landed 
when he came to New York, — the first capital of 
the United States. 

Site of President Washington’s first home in the city. 

Site of Federal Hall, where Washington, the first Presi¬ 
dent of the United States, was inaugurated. 

The church Washington attended on the day of his 
inauguration, and during his residence in New York. 

Washington’s second home in New York. This man¬ 
sion was built on the site of Adrian Block’s log huts. 


Do you know of any buildings near your school that were used as headquarters 
for American or English officers during the Revolution ? Is there any colonial 
building of any kind near your school ? 


226 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


THE MEANING OF A FEW GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Arthur Kill. The English corrupted AcTiter Cull into “ Arthur Kill ” and gave the name 
to the stream of water connecting Raritan bay with Newark bay. 

Barnegat. Barnegat is a Dutch name given by Henry Hudson. Some say the word 
means “ burning hole.” Others say it means “ breaker’s inlet.” 

Bronx. Bronx was named for the Dutch settler, Jonas Bronck. He bought his land 
from the Indians. 

Brooklyn. Brooklyn is a Dutch word. The Dutch spelled it Breuckelen. It means 
“broken-up land” or “marshy land.” 

Canarsie. Canarsie is the name of a tribe of Indians that lived in Kings county. The 
word means “ at the fenced place.” 

Communipaw. Communipaw has two meanings: first, “the commune” of Pauw 
(Michael Pauw was the first owner of that land); second, Gemoenapa cor¬ 
rupted to Communipaw. 

Flatbush. Flatbush was first called Midwout by the Dutch, and afterward called Vlacke- 
bos. So named from woods that grew on the flat country. 

Flushing. Flushing was called Vlissengen by the early Dutch settlers. Flushing is a 
corruption of Ylissengen, the name of a town in Holland. 

Governor’s island. Governor’s island was bought by a Dutch governor, and for that 
reason was named Governor’s island. The Indian name meant “ nut island.” 
The island was once famous for its chestnuts. 

Hell Gate. Some writers say the name Hell Gate is derived from the Dutch word 
Hellegate , which means “ gate of hell.” Others say it is derived from Horllgat, 
which means “ the whirling strait.” The place was named on account of the 
whirlpool which made navigation dangerous. 

Hempstead. Hempstead is derived from the Dutch word Heemstede , meaning “home¬ 
stead.” 

Hoboken. Hoboken was named from the Indian word hopocan , meaning “ a tobacco 
pipe.” 

Jamaica. Jamaica is an Indian word and has two meanings: first, “a country abound¬ 
ing in springs ” ; second, “ land of water and wood.” Another writer says that 
Jamaica was derived from a word that means “beaver.” 

Kill van Kull. Kill van Kull means “ the stream of the bay.” Kill van Kull connects 
Newark bay and New York bay. 

Manhattan. Manhattan is an Indian word. Some writers say it means “ island.” They 
tell us that the Indians who lived on Manhattan and Staten islands were called 


APPENDIX 


227 


Manhattans, or “ people who live on an island.” Others think the word means 
“ the people of the whirlpool,” and referred to the whirlpool called Hell Gate. 
These writers say that the Indians who lived in Manhattan and in a part of 
The Bronx were called Manhattans. They give a different name to the Staten 
Island Indians. 

Newark bay. Newark bay was called by the Dutch Achter Cull , or Back bay. 

New Dorp. New Dorp means “new town.” The Dutch spelling was Nieuwe Dorp. 

Pelham. Pelham bay and park were named in honor of Thomas Pell, an English 
settler. 

Raritan. Raritan is the name of an Indian tribe that lived on Staten Island. The 
word means “forked river.” 

Rockaway. Rockaway is the name of a tribe of Indians that lived in Rockaway. The 
word means “ planting land.” 

Spuyten Duyvil. Spuyten Duyvil means “ in spite of the devil.” When Stuyvesant was 
governor people depended on a ferry to cross the creek that connects the Harlem 
and Hudson rivers. One very dark, stormy night a Dutch citizen said he would 
swim across the creek in spite of the devil. The Dutch words were spuyt 
den duyvil. The poor man was drowned, and the creek and the high land 
north of it have been called Spuyten Duyvil ever since. 

Staten Island. Staten Island means “ the island of the states.” It was so named in 
honor of the “ states ” that made up the country called Holland. 

Throgs Neck. Throgs Neck was named in honor of John Throgmorton, an English 
settler. 

Wallabout bay. Our writers do not agree about the meaning of this name, nor do they 
agree about the spelling of it. Here are three ways of spelling it, — Waal-bocht , 
Waal-boght, and Walebacht. The Walloons settled at Wallabout bay. They 
were not Dutch. They had gone from their own country to Holland, and had 
lived there before settling in Brooklyn. The Dutch called them foreigners. 
Some of our writers say Wallabout bay means “ Walloons’ bay,” or “ Bay of 
Foreigners.” Others say it means “ curving bay.” 

Weehawken. Weehawken is an Indian word meaning « maize-land.” 


228 


HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 


HATES AND LANDMARKS OF LOCAL INTEREST— NEIGHBOR¬ 
HOOD OF SCHOOL 


APPENDIX 


229 


MEANINGS OF OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 


























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